The Sun of Sunyshore
by BANIX
Summary: I didn't ask to be a Gym Leader, but I somehow found myself as one. Damn it, Flint. THIS is all your fault! I want to resign! I WANT TO RESIGN! SOMEONE, SACK ME! (Reincarnated OC as Volkner)
1. Chapter 1- Volkner of Sunyshore

"VOLKNER! WAKE UP!"

I groaned and tossed about in my covers, pulling the blanket over my head to block out the noise.

"I SWEAR TO THE LEGENDARIES ABOVE, IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP I WILL-"

Set the fire alarm in my house ringing and the water sprinklers showering over my head.

"SET THE FIRE ALARM IN YOUR HOUSE RINGING AND THE WATER SPRINKLERS SHOWERING OVER YOUR HEAD!"

Called it. That little squirt is too predictable.

"THREE!"

I took a peek at the clock hanging on the wall of my bedroom. It is 11am, maybe I should be up by now.

"TWO!"

Should I just tell Jarvis to ensure that my fire alarm and water sprinklers don't get themselves hacked today? Jarvis listen to my every command anyway.

"ONE!"

I groaned and trudged to the door before swinging it open. The little squirt Kayla already has her hand hovering over the button that will mess up the electrical wiring of my house.

Annoying little squirt.

"Finally!" Kayla threw her hands up in exasperation. "Volkner! You are late! You should be at the gym at least an hour ago!"

"It's not like there will be any challengers worthy of my time." I grumbled as I went to the toilet to wash my sleepy face and did my morning routine, or maybe I should call it the afternoon routine with how late I tend to wake up.

"You are the _GYM LEADER_ of Sunyshore! Have some sense of responsibility!"

"Speaking of that, did you send in my letter of resignation to the League yesterday?" I turned around and asked the small little girl while brushing my teeth.

"No. If you want to do it, do it yourself." Kayla said with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. "You know for a fact that they won't let you resign anyway."

"Damn it." I muttered as I gargled my mouth and washed it clean with water.

Fifteen minutes later, the little squirt is pulling me by my hand towards the Sunyshore Gym.

_My gym._

God damn it Flint! _Who_ told you to submit my name to the League when they were looking for applicants to be the next Sunyshore Gym Leader?! Now I can't even quit no matter how much I try to slack off!

I will give him the beatdown of the lifetime when he comes to visit the next time. Franky will love to have a rematch with his magmortar.

Nah, who am I kidding? We will just end up in a draw as per usual.

Oh, sorry. I didn't see you. You were talking to me? Oh, you are asking who I am?

My name is Volkner, the 42nd Gym Leader of Sunyshore. I would like to emphasise that I didn't become Sunyshore's Gym Leader by my own will, the jerk Flint somehow got the League to appoint me as one. No matter what I did, I just can't get myself sacked. The Sinnoh League just love me too damn much and I can't seem to get them to hate me no matter what I do.

Why am I so different from the Volkner you knew from the games/anime/whatever pokemon series that you are familiar with?

Believe it or not, this is the second life I am living. I wasn't expecting to be reincarnated as Volkner either, but I am not complaining. Despite the flaws and how dangerous this world can be, I enjoy my second life here thus far.

So now you are asking about my life story of this second life of mine? Ok, let's see, maybe we should start from the top?

.

.

.

Nah. It's way too long and I don't feel like telling a story. You will definitely find bits and pieces of it along the way if you continue to watch me from where you are.

I am afraid that I will have to cut our conversation short, the little squirt had managed to drag me to the gym and now there is actually a queue of challengers for me to send packing home. Wait a sec, all of them had actually managed to get through _all_ of my gym trainers?

Interesting.

Let's hope that they can actually put up some semblance of a fight.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that!"

"I am the Gym Leader, of course I can do whatever I want in this gym." Volkner retorted as Kayla resisted the urge to pull at her hair. "What are you complaining about anyway? I sent them packing in less than ten minutes. We saved a lot of time."

"So that you can go back to sleep?"

"No. It's so that I can go grab my lunch _and then_ go back to sleep."

Kayla wanted to just scream at her Gym Leader right now, but she was interrupted before she can do so.

"Come on, let's go grab a bite. It's lunch time and I am hungry, my treat."

Volkner simply stood up and walked out of the arena. Tec, Volkner's rhyperior, repaired the destroyed arena within seconds with his expertise in rock and ground type techniques before he lumbered after his trainer.

Kayla's gaping mouth hang at the sight. That's it? Volkner destroyed all the challengers with his _main team_ so that he can eat his lunch as soon as possible? He rarely used members from his main team against challengers unless they are Elite trainers. She could count the number of times that happened with the fingers from a single hand.

The gym challenge that just occurred was a bizarre sight. Volkner had challenged the entire group of trainers all at once. He and his team faced at least sixty advanced level pokemon from the group of challengers versus Volkner's seven.

Volkner had defeated them in less ten minutes. None of his pokemon had gotten even a single scratch.

Jo, Volkner's jolteon, nuzzled herself against Kayla's leg before running after Volkner, yipping happily along the way like what she usually do. Franky, Volkner's electivire and starter, just walked towards the door like his trainer did as he gave Kayla a wave. ISpy, Volkner's magnezone, pushed Franky from the back to get him to move faster.

Simba, Volkner's luxray, walked to stand beside Kayla and lowered himself down, offering Kayla a ride.

"Thanks, Simba."

Kayla muttered her thanks as she climbed onto the huge luxray. North, Volkner's probopass, floated beside Simba as Myst, Volkner's gallade, teleported himself to only-he-knows-where.

This is Volkner's main team. These are the strongest eight pokemon that he possesses out of the seventeen that he currently has. Well, seven out of eight, since there is a missing member that goes by the name of Puddle, who is too big to fit into the gym most of the time unless Volkner uses the gym's special feature to make it temporarily more spacious. Volkner usually let Puddle out into the sea surrounding Sunyshore for a swim. Puddle's presence had made it a lot safer for ships to sail into Sunyshore without the fear of being attacked by feral wild pokemon, pirates, or random criminal organisations.

Even after being his head gym trainer for two years, Kayla still cannot understand Volkner at times. To put it simply, Volkner is weird. He doesn't do things the way normal people do.

First of all, he is lazy. _Very_ lazy. The only time he is motivated to do anything would be engaging in pokemon battles or training. At the same time, Volkner is too strong. Most people cannot give him a challenging enough fight and those who could are usually too busy to come down to Sunyshore to challenge him on a regular basis.

Hence, Volkner just laze around most of the time. He is so powerful that he is _bored_.

The extent of his laziness extended to how he named some of his pokemon. His jolteon was named Jo because Volkner was too lazy to think of a name for her and simply plucked out the first two alphabets out of her species's name. The same goes for his vikavolt, Vik. His probopass, North, got named as such because according to Volkner, '_she was always pointing to the north as a nosepass'_. His _gyarados_, the menacing, scary, fierce, sea serpent that so many people are afraid of, is named **_Puddle_**. Why?

Because Volkner found him as a magikarp in a puddle.

It is a miracle his pokemon didn't eat him up for his bad naming sense.

Volkner's motto in life is to do things at his own pace. He couldn't care less what others think about him or how urgent others wants it to be done. If Volkner decides that this is the pace he wants to go, he will go at that pace regardless of what you feel. Despite that, he had never messed up any important matters before. He still gets things done in a manner that can satisfy all parties involved. The only drawback that it is done at his own pace, which can be infuriating at times when you urgently need the matter to be done.

The other glaring weirdness of Volkner, especially so when you just met him at first glance, is that Volkner actually has pokemon of other typings other than electric types. It is a weird sight considering that he is the strongest Electric Specialist that Sinnoh boasts.

Heck, out of the strongest eight pokemon he has, four of them aren't even electric types. That is half of his main team. She hasn't seen a Specialist like him in her short career as a trainer thus far. Most Specialists' main teams are made up of at least 95% of pokemon that matches their type specialty. The remaining 5% are usually there because Specialists keep these pokemon on their team for transportation purposes like teleportation, flying, or surfing.

Naturally, Kayla had asked Volkner the reason for it when she first joined the Sunyshore Gym as a gym trainer and then eventually worked her way up as the head gym trainer. His answer?

_"There are only so many different species of electric types in Sinnoh, squirt. Some of them aren't even suited for higher levels of pokemon battling and I need to have a minimum of six pokemon to take part in my conference. And why will I restrict myself to just electric types simply because I am an Electric Specialist? It's stupid to set such restrictions on oneself. Such thinking will only stunt your growth."_

Somehow, Kayla couldn't find a way to dispute Volkner's opinion on this issue.

For Kayla's case, the most infuriating aspect of Volkner that she has to face on a near daily basis is Volkner's unwillingness to be a Gym Leader.

Yes, you heard that right. Volkner _doesn't_ want to be a Gym Leader. _At all_.

Kayla couldn't believe her ears either when she first heard about it from Volkner's mouth. How can anyone _not_ want to be a Gym Leader? It is a prestigious position only granted to the strongest of the strongest! It is a position that many trainers will cut their own limb for! Being a Gym Leader automatically makes you one of the Thirteen Pillars of the region you hail from, the elite group which comprises of the Regional Champion, Elite Four, and the Gym Leaders. It is an honour to be crowned as one of them! It is the dream of thousands, if not millions of trainers worldwide!

And this guy makes a daily attempt to send in his letter of resignation to the League just to try and get himself sacked. It got to the point where the Sinnoh League has a separate mailbox just for Volkner where the staffs there dump his resignation letters and then dispose of them periodically without even opening it.

It still didn't stop Volkner from trying when he learnt about the special arrangement.

The kicker? The one that made Kayla want to strangle him and scream in his face?

Volkner want to resign from his job as Gym Leader so that he can be the lighthouse keeper of the Vista Lighthouse, the lighthouse in the south-eastern corner of Sunyshore city. Why would someone as powerful as him want to be an unimportant lighthouse keeper? He can be so much greater!

Her question was the burning question of the gym trainers in their gym as well. The answer Volkner gave to them when they finally worked the courage out to ask him (_she was new at that time, and hence a little scared to ask the **Volkner** directly_) nearly made them faceplant onto the ground.

_"Hey, being the lighthouse keeper is the dream job for me. I can sleep in late, which is a plus. The pay is a little on the small side, but it is enough to sustain me and my team and it is a source of steady income. Plus, there will be the occasional trainers who will climb the lighthouse and I can satisfy my need for battles, which also means more prize money for me since I can defeat them all within minutes. It is the perfect job for someone lazy like me."_

If only the citizens of Sunyshore knew how much of a lazyass their favourite Gym Leader is.

Volkner's frustrating personality aside, there's no denying his prowess as a trainer and his contributions to Sunyshore. He can be lazy, but never was he irresponsible when it comes to fulfilling the more vital and important responsibilities he has as a Gym Leader.

Volkner is the childhood friend of Flint, the same Flint who is also one of Sinnoh's Elite Four. They are rivals and supposedly equal in strength. Both of them grew up in this city and they both ended up competing in the same conference, the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference. It is an annual event held in Sinnoh where their regional Pokemon League Tournament will be hosted.

They both reached the finals and faced off against each other. They both tied for First Place.

This is an outcome that was never before been seen in Sinnoh's history. After much discussion by the officials of the conference back then, it was decided that the both of them will share the honour of being the Champion of that year's conference.

Flint stayed in Sinnoh and went on to improve himself, eventually making his way into Sinnoh's Elite Four. Volkner had decided to get stronger by touring the other regions to see for himself what other electric types these regions had to offer. According to Volkner, it was on this long trip that he amassed the required number of electric types to be able to truly call himself an Electric Specialist.

When Volkner returned, it was the exact time when the previous Sunyshore Gym Leader, Mark, was forced to step down due to his ailing health. The old man was unwilling to leave Sunyshore behind but upon his family's persuasion, decided to retire for good and then moved to Hoenn, where the tropical climate is more suited for him to live given his body's condition.

That leaves the position of Sunyshore's Gym Leader empty.

Many Sinnoh trainers sent in their applications to be considered as a candidate for the position of Gym Leader. The trainer community of the Sinnoh region went crazy. It is not everyday such a position is available, so it was understandable that everyone wants to try their hand in becoming one of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars, a prestigious position that only trainers who stand at the pinnacle of the trainer community can hope to even touch.

Volkner didn't send in his application, he didn't care about being a Gym Leader.

However, Flint did.

Flint had always thought that it is a waste that Volkner's dream is to be just an unassuming lighthouse keeper. Volkner was about to apply for that position too, until Flint disrupted Volkner's plan by sending in an application on Volkner's behalf to the Sinnoh League, _begging_ the League to not let someone as talented as Volkner go to waste.

The Sinnoh League agreed with Flint's opinion after looking through Volkner's track record. Two days later, a very perplexed Volkner was called to the League HQ located at Lily of the Valley Island with him none the wiser. He walked out of the HQ as a Gym Leader, much to his chagrin.

He never let Flint hear the end of it.

In terms of the hierarchy of power between the Thirteen Pillars, the Champion is the strongest, followed by the Elite Four and then the Gym Leaders. However, Volkner had always tied with Flint in every single battle they had with each other. The same outcome persisted even when Flint is already a member of the Elite Four. From this, it does not take a genius to know that Volkner has what it takes to be considered as a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four with his strength alone. There are talks that the League is considering Volkner to replace Bertha as a member of the Elite Four the moment she retires.

Obviously, Volkner wants to avoid that outcome at all costs. He still wants to be a lighthouse keeper, and even drew up a retirement plan on how to successfully resign as a Gym Leader in five years time and get his dream job at the same time.

In Kayla's opinion, that would not be happening in a few decades.

The League simply blocked Volkner's every attempt to get out of the League's services; Volkner's strength is just that valuable to them. Until they can find people who is as capable as Volkner to replace him, there's no way they are letting him go. Volkner knows this as well but he still tries anyway, much to the exasperation of the people around him.

At this point, Kayla feels that Volkner is doing this just to annoy the League. It is his way of getting back at them for shoving the position of Gym Leader onto him.

The two of them travelled to the bustling Sunyshore Market. Kayla is hitching a ride from Simba while Volkner has his hands in his pocket and strolled at a leisurely pace, his pokemon beside him. The citizens of Sunyshore exchanged enthusiastic greetings with Volkner the moment they spotted their beloved Gym Leader.

Kayla still couldn't believe her eyes sometimes since she knows how laidback Volkner usually is. Volkner is actually loved by the people of Sunyshore.

Even with the long list of flaws that Volkner has, there is no denying that Volkner was vital in helping Sunyshore develop into what it is today. For generations, Sunyshore has been a major port town and the gateway to the Sinnoh's Pokemon League. It is situated on a narrow spit of land that is surrounded by the sea and mountains. If it wasn't for the fact that Sunyshore's geographical location is so suitable to build a port, no one would have wanted to build a city here. The terrain of Sunyshore is not exactly suited to build a city as large as it evolved to be.

Even though Sunyshore is referred to as a city, it is in actuality a congregation of many small pieces of land jutting out of the ocean surface. However, being so close to the sea has its problems. Wild pokemon from the sea tend to wreck havoc on the city, be it accidentally or on purpose, and it caused Sunyshore to suffer damages for as long as it has been founded. There wasn't much of a point building bridges to connect the land masses since they would be destroyed within the next few months no matter how hard the city tried to guard it. It was for this reason that Sunyshore's citizens rarely explored anywhere outside the land that they lived on since it is so hard to go from one place to another even within the city. Many citizens of Sunyshore had lived their lives not knowing full well on who lives on the other side of Sunyshore opposite them. The only way to visit the different parts of Sunyshore back then was to either surf there by boat or with their pokemon's help.

The inconvenience in travelling from one point of Sunyshore to another brought about a whole slew of problems. The city is divided in both the literal and figurative sense. Citizens of Sunyshore have no real connection to the other locals living on the other land masses that is separated from theirs. There wasn't any true sense of kinship among the city populace. The divide also brings about a huge security issue. The local police force always have troubles trying to maintain peace and order due to how problematic and difficult it is to travel from one part of Sunyshore to another, allowing mobs of gangsters to thrive.

The League and the previous Sunyshore's Gym Leaders had tried many times to solve this problem but none of them had truly worked. Many had grown to accept this problem as an unsolved fact, deciding to leave it as it is.

Needless to say, this problem was passed down to Volkner when he took over as Gym Leader. Volkner was very annoyed at how inconvenient this whole arrangement is. He was annoyed that no one had solved this issue for 500 years when in his opinion, the solution is so simple.

He came up with a plan within two weeks after he took up the position of Gym Leader. By the time six months had passed, his plan had started to come into fruition. Two years later, the security and safety of Sunyshore had increased tremendously along with other benefits.

Volkner was of the mentality that if humans cannot solve their own problems with their own strength, pokemon might. The origin of Sunyshore's longstanding problem was that the city is prone to harassment from wild pokemon from the sea. This not only threatens the safety of the city, but it also affects the shipping route ships from all over the world uses to travel to Sunyshore, putting Sunyshore's economy at risk as well.

Volkner's solution to Sunyshore's problem started out with a single command to his largest pokemon. It was where Puddle came in.

Volkner may be an Electric Specialist but he is no slouch in training pokemon of other typings. Puddle is a gigantic gyarados that dwarfed even others of its own kind. He is a member of Volkner's main team and is one of his more destructive pokemon. As it turns out, Puddle's presence alone is enough to deter most wild pokemon surrounding Sunyshore from harassing the city.

Volkner had ordered Puddle to be the leader of the local wild pokemon population from the sea. Many people back then thought he was crazy, because how will that help to solve Sunyshore's problems? How can a single gyarados, no matter how large and how strong it is in battle, defeat every single wild pokemon in the sea surrounding Sunyshore?

It took a while for Puddle to complete the mission given to him by Volkner, but he did manage to establish himself as the strongest among them and became their leader. Most wild pokemon have a pack mentality and they will obey their leader's orders most of the time. Through Puddle, Volkner had ordered the wild pokemon to stop harassing the city. Volkner was also worried that these wild pokemon had attacked Sunyshore in the first place due to scarcity of food around the area. Thus, to be doubly sure that the wild pokemon have no incentive to launch another siege on the city, he had also used his power and authority as a Gym Leader to clear out certain spots in Sunyshore for the sole purpose to feed these wild pokemon. The pokemon food needed will be donated by the League for this cause. Volkner's logic was that if the main reason for the pokemon' constant harassments was a need to hunt for food, then there will not be any reason for these pokemon to attack the city if their bellies are full.

Somehow, it worked out.

There are a few feeding spots around the city and they are mainly located at the outskirts of Sunyshore. These places also now serve as a tourist attraction. It is one of the few places in the world where people can actually observe with their own eyes how humans and pokemon are able to coexist in harmony. The local police force guards these feeding spots diligently as well, not allowing criminal activity to take place within these areas. This development had helped boost Sunyshore's tourism and the local wild pokemon population had become more comfortable around humans. There are also trainers who claimed to have found their starters from these feeding spots.

With the problem of wild pokemon constantly harassing the city out of the way, Volkner then concentrated on solving the city's internal security issue.

Permanent bridges can now be built to link the various parts of the city together, something that all Sunyshore citizens look forward to. However, Volkner doesn't want the bridges to be ordinary bridges.

He wants the bridges to be built using _solar panels_.

It was another crazy idea that everyone had doubted. At that point in time, solar panels are a relatively new technology. Are solar panels even suited to be used as building materials?

In response, Volkner simply called out Jarvis, his porygon-z, cooped themselves up in a room for a week doing who-knows-what, and emerged from the room holding a blueprint detailing the prototype of a solar panel suitable for building purposes.

He and Jarvis had invented an entirely different type of solar panel within a week.

Volkner had given all the credit to Jarvis, saying that he merely gave the idea to Jarvis and the manmade pokemon with artificial intelligence had computed the entire calculation and came up with the blueprint by itself. He said that Jarvis invented that particular brand of solar panels, not him.

In the eyes of the people of Sunyshore, there's no difference. To them, Volkner is the inventor of such solar panels since he is Jarvis's trainer.

The blueprint was sold to the League, who were impressed with the idea and had heavily sponsored the construction of these solar panel roads and bridges in Sunyshore. Sunyshore is a location that is bathed in harsh sunlight almost all year round. Not only does the solar panel made use of Sunyshore's natural advantage to create energy and meet their energy demands, it helps to connect the entire city.

Sunyshore's economy had nearly tripled in just a short five years after Volkner became its Gym Leader. The locals here love him for what he had contributed to Sunyshore.

There were people who were resistant to the changes as well, although these people were mostly the local mobs and gangsters who were very comfortable with Sunyshore's previous situation until Volkner came into the picture. They tried to destroy any efforts in bettering the city but the local police and Volkner had put an end to them quickly. It was a common sight back then to witness Volkner taking on hordes of gangsters with only his pokemon by his side. The moment someone spotted Volkner moving to wipe out the troublemakers, the kids who got wind of it will hide themselves by the side and watch as Volkner stroll into the mobs of gangsters and obliterate them within minutes. Some of them even brought snacks along, treating the spectacle like some sort of action movie.

Even the adults tagged along. Some of them even openly ran bets on how long Volkner will take to finish his job. Volkner simply pretended that he didn't see or hear anything, although he will send ISpy to guard the growing crowd of spectators in case things went wrong.

Kayla will never admit it to Volkner but she was one of the kids back then. She still remembers how she stared on in awe as Volkner walked into enemy lines as if he was taking a stroll through the park and finished them off in the same amount of time she needs to eat a quick meal.

He was what inspired her to be an Electric Specialist.

Within a year after his appointment as Gym Leader, Volkner had singlehandedly annihilated the underworld of Sunyshore with the help of the police force. No one from the underworld is strong enough to stand against his might. With that, most of Sunyshore's security issues is solved and the city is now one of the safest cities in the region. Ships are now more willing to travel to Sunyshore and dock there, thereby boosting Sunyshore's economy. Everyone is happy at this outcome.

It was around that time that Volkner started to become an inspiration to the younger generations who aspire to be pokemon trainers themselves. Volkner was an orphan with nothing to his name. He had started from zero and had ended up as one of the most powerful gym leaders the region had birthed.

Volkner is not only their leader, he is their idol and inspiration. He is a role model for trainers and he had inspired a fair share of trainers from the younger generation to be an Electric Specialist. Over the past five years as Sunyshore's Gym Leader, the citizens there had given him many titles. The more well-known ones are 'The Sun of Sunyshore' and 'The Yellow Flash'.

Volkner is like the sun, his presence so blindingly bright but it is also warm. Like a benevolent light, he had guided Sunyshore and improved it further. The moniker of 'The Yellow Flash' came about when people witnessed his fights with Sunyshore's underworld. His electric types are so fast that all you can see about them are yellow blurs, hence helping their trainer earn the nickname of 'The Yellow Flash'.

Volkner seemed to like the second moniker better than the first for reasons unknown. Kayla personally thought that the first moniker sounded nicer.

The two of them had a quick meal at a random food stand. The owner of the food stand hadn't wanted to receive their money since he is very grateful for what Volkner had done for Sunyshore, but Volkner just shoved the money into his hands and disappeared into the crowd before the kind man could react, pulling Kayla with him at the same time.

Volkner is just that loved by the people here.

"Hey, squirt. What's the schedule for today?"

"You are supposed to be training us gym trainers right now." Kayla deadpanned. "That was half an hour ago."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Volkner yawned out a reply as he gave a lazy stretch. He had detoured to the Vista Lighthouse and had took a nap beneath the shade of one of the nearby trees, claiming that the food coma is calling for him.

"It's not like you will be on time even if I bugged you." Kayla retorted. "You will just ignore me and be late anyway.

"I take offence to that." Volkner said and he suddenly have a mischievous grin. "For that you will have to walk back to the gym by yourself."

Kayla's eyes widened. The Vista Lighthouse and the gym are at opposite corners of the city. She will take _forever_ to get back there by foot. He wouldn't.

Volkner's grin widened.

_He totally would._

Myst appeared in a Teleport and Volkner disappeared with him in the next second, leaving Kayla alone with the cool sea breeze blowing at her back.

.

.

.

**"VOLKNER!"**

* * *

**AN: I had always wanted to write a world about pokemon from a perspective that is not a trainer going through the gym circuit. I started out by writing about the life of a pokemon researcher, but that story is boring in my opinion and I am too lazy to invent random scientific knowledge about pokemon. I then turned to other groups of people that I can write about in the pokemon world, people that are vital to let the world run as it is but are often overlooked.**

**I decided to write one about gym leaders.**

**I had also always wanted to try writing a story on the Sinnoh region and Volkner is the person that I decided upon after looking through the eight candidates to be the mc of my story. There is just so much to explore with him as a mc. It was through writing the first chapter of this story that I came up with the concept of Jarvis, which I then inserted into my other pokemon fanfic, I Just Want To Travel The World. Some of you who came over from IJWTTTW might see some references that I borrowed from there and inserted it here.**

**To be honest, I still have no idea where this story is heading to and I don't think it will ever grow to be as wonderful as IJWTTTW. This story is more like a slice of life story and I have a feeling that I will be making this story a short one. My focus will also not be on this story. This story is more like a way for me to take a break in writing out the main stories I already have when I experience a burn out in trying to write something interesting. I tend to go back to writing this story and another unpublished one whenever I have no motivation to write the other stories that I already have.**

**With that said, don't expect me to update this story regularly given the reason why it was created in the first place. I just thought that some of you might enjoy this kind of slice of life story about the pokemon world, if it is really going in that direction. I think this story has potential, but I have no idea what the potential is yet and I haven't really decided what I really want this story to grow into.**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy this story.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**


	2. Chapter 2- Flint

"Remember how we used to fight with Volk and Franky at that clearing all the time, Burner? Seems like a long time ago yet I can still remember it like it was yesterday."

Flint's magmortar and starter, Burner, gave a grunt of agreement as the duo strolled through the outskirts of Sunyshore. It has been a long time since he had visited his hometown. Flint grinned, Volkner should be up for a challenge. It has been a long time since he can find someone not from the Elite Four that can make him go all out.

If Volkner is actually willing to bring his lazy self to accept his challenge, that is.

Volkner never stopped harping at Flint and guilt trip him for making him Sunyshore's Gym Leader. There was no real bite to it but Flint do feel a bit of guilt for doing that to his best friend. He knows how lazy and unmotivated he can be towards anything not related to pokemon training.

No regrets though, being Sunyshore's Gym Leader is good for Volkner and Volkner had helped transform Sunyshore into what it is today. Sinnoh and Sunyshore had both benefitted greatly through adding Volkner into their Thirteen Pillars. His contributions to the region cannot be ignored. His ability as a trainer cannot be simply overlooked.

Volkner is just that capable.

Unlike Flint who has a younger brother and a grandfather, Volkner never knew who his parents were and he never bothered to find out. Many had stepped forward to claim that role after he became famous but he sent them packing off with his pokemon.

According to Volkner, if they weren't there for him when he is at his worst, they don't deserve him at his best.

Volkner had always been the lazy, quiet type that will just sleep or read a book in an unassuming corner of the room. Flint had always been the outgoing one that got himself into all sorts of trouble. For Volkner, life at the orphanage wasn't easy. The bigger kids tend to bully the younger ones behind the matron's back and she is often too busy to care for each of them individually. Volkner is often left to fend for himself.

Flint's outgoing and charismatic personality attracted people to him like pokemon to pokeblocks. When he was still a child and playing with other kids his age, kids in Sunyshore flocked to him and he always somehow became the leader of his little group. Naturally, the bigger kids don't like their authority to be undermined and had tried all sorts of way to make his life miserable. The other kids were scared of the bigger kids and nobody helped Flint out when the bigger kids kicked and punched at Flint until he was black and blue. All of the kids that followed him left him in his time of need.

Only Volkner didn't.

It came as a surprise to Flint, that the quietest, scrawniest, and most unassuming kid in Sunyshore actually stood up to the bullies for him. They had barely talked to each other before that. Flint had never registered Volkner's presence until that point in time. Before that, he only knows Volkner as the quiet kid with the bright yellow hair and a love for books and pokemon. He only knew of his presence when they passed by each other a few times in the city and through passing remarks he heard about from others.

Volkner also got himself beaten black and blue, but it was how they got to know each other and became brothers in all but blood. They both have a shared love for pokemon. Flint's dream is to one day be the Elite Four of Sinnoh, a dream he strived for after watching the year's Lily of the Valley Conference where there was a segment displaying the Elite Four's powers in the opening ceremony. Volkner did not have such a dream, but he does want to be a trainer and an extremely good one at that.

Funnily enough, Volkner's eventual dream is to be the lighthouse keeper of the Vista Lighthouse.

**WHY?!**

Volkner is one of the most hardworking people he knew when it comes to pokemon training. He is lazy, but that only applies to anything that is not related to pokemon. He stayed up late to read and gain knowledge about pokemon where everyone had given up and fallen asleep from all the boring and technical stuffs they had to learn to become a trainer. He persevered where others gave up.

And yet he wants to be an ordinary lighthouse keeper? Why?

The only reason Volkner gave him when Flint asked is that he just want to live his life at his own pace. To Volkner, things like fame, money, acknowledgement are nothing. Volkner had said that at the end of the day when your life comes to an end, one should look back and see that they had lived their lives to the fullest, that they had enjoyed themselves. Why slog your lives out if at the end of the road, you look back and realised that all you did for your entire life is to keep working continuously without any time for yourself and your loved ones? One should enjoy what they want to do the most in their short few decades in this world.

To Volkner, a peaceful and carefree life is all he wants.

Flint can't find a reason to argue with Volkner's logic, but that didn't stop him from trying to find one. Volkner needs more motivation in life. It is a waste to see him squander his time away napping or guarding a lighthouse when he can be so much greater.

This is the reason why he jumped at the chance to apply on Volkner's behalf for the position of Sunyshore's Gym Leader. Volkner is a hidden gem that can shine if given light.

His brother is a very talented individual. He can be so much more.

Flint is brought out of his thoughts when Volkner's house is in sight. It is a small cottage at the edge of Sunyshore facing the sea. Puddles can also come to visit him and peek through the window if needed. This is one reason why Volkner had decided to buy this small cottage to live in since it allows him to interact with the largest member of his team.

Volkner is outside the cottage and snoring away under the shade of a tree. Jo, his jolteon, yipped happily and ran up to Flint as a show of greeting. The electric type ran circles of joy around him in an excited manner, happy that there is someone new to play with.

Flint walked up to Volkner and nudged with his foot.

"Oi, wake up."

Volkner cracked open a sleepy eye.

"Oh, hi Flint." Volkner said with a yawn before closing his eyes again. "Goodnight."

Flint's eye twitched in annoyance. They hadn't seen each other in so long and this is his response?

"Jo." Flint turned towards Volkner's excitable jolteon. "I think your trainer needs a shocking wakeup call."

Jo happily charged itself up with electricity. Volkner sat up immediately upon hearing the crackling sounds that Jo is emitting.

"Alright! I'm up!" Volkner scowled and glared at Flint, who returned it with a big grin on his face as big as Burner's.

"Come on, you and me. One more round."

"It will just end in a draw like always."

"Never know till you try."

"Leave me alone, Flint." Volkner groaned as he lay back down onto the ground. "This weather is perfect for napping too. You should try it out."

Franky simply rotate his arms excitedly and stretched his arms straight up into the air before leaning to a side. From what he knew, this action that Franky displayed since he was an elekid is what made Volkner decide to name Franky as Franky. Volkner was extremely amused when he first saw elekid striking this pose.

They may be brothers, but sometimes Flint have no idea how Volkner's brain work. Why does this particular action cause him to name his electivire Franky?

"See, even Franky is excited for a battle."

Volkner gave a look of betrayal at his starter who simply gave a megawatt smile in return.

"Fine. A one-on-one. I will be going with Franky."

Flint's smile grew even bigger.

"And I with Burner. We are going to burn you and Franky down."

* * *

"I **TOLD** you we will end in a draw like always."

"I was so close! Burner and I almost won!"

"But you didn't."

"ARGH! This is so frustrating! Just when I thought there will finally be a winner between the two of us!"

Volkner gave Flint a '_I told you so'_ smirk as the two of them lounged about in Volkner's living room after their one-on-one battle. The smaller members of their team made themselves comfortable in their house. Franky and Burner had regained consciousness and had decided to train by themselves in a secluded corner outside. The adrenaline rush hadn't subsided in their bodies just yet.

"Cynthia is calling a meeting for all thirteen of us in about two weeks' time." Flint said as the two of them enjoy a drink. "Just making sure that you know about it. I know you purposely don't check your emails to skip these meetings and then claim ignorance about it."

"That girl needs to learn how to unwind and chill." Volkner said lazily as he swirled the contents in his glass. "She's too serious about everything."

"You are too not serious in everything." Flint deadpanned. "I'm pretty sure you are right at the top of her shit list with the attitude you are showing her."

"Hey, that's good. Maybe I can get myself sacked for real this time. I need a break."

Flint ran a tired hand through his face. Volkner is _still_ hoping to get sacked?

"Where is it though, the meeting."

"Everything is in the email. Go check it yourself." Flint retorted as he purposely made Volkner go the extra mile in opening his mailbox. He needs to stop being so lazy.

"Never mind, Jarvis!" Volkner spoke out loud to no one in particular. "Be a dear and write the time and venue of the meeting into my calendar, won't you? Thanks a lot bud!"

Flint facepalmed. _Of course_, how could he forget about Jarvis? He practically handles everything IT related for Volkner and he's everywhere even if he cannot be seen most of the time.

The existence of the porygon-z species is really too convenient for a lazyass like Volkner.

"Stop making your pokemon do everything for you."

"Hey, Jarvis enjoys doing this. Ask him if you don't believe me."

"Stupid lazyass."

"Shut up, afro head. By the way, did you see any pirates or the likes when you were on the way here?"

"No, the sea journey was very peaceful."

"Ah, Puddle must have gotten them scared. I know there is still one or two groups around but I can't seem to find them. I will get to it later."

"Or." Flint said with a predatory glint in his eyes as he looked at his best friend. "We could go pirate hunting now, just like old times."

Volkner returned the same look back at him. This is like the old times when the two of them will go around challenging street thugs and gangs as young boys with only their starters. The two of them against the world.

"That totally sounds like a good idea."

* * *

"Are you sure this is the correct area?"

"I'm damn sure of it. Maybe they hid underwater? Glowy!"

A lanturn appeared onto the sea on Volkner's command. Flint and Volkner are surfing on Puddle right now, so the massive gyarados cannot dive deep down to search for the pirates that they are looking for.

"Glowy, you found anything?"

Volkner engaged in a game of charades with Glowy. Flint have no idea how Volkner managed to understand what his lanturn is talking about, just that he can.

Glowy then began to speed off in a certain direction as Puddle followed.

"I think Glowy said she found a small island with a few working boats. It may be where the pirates hide themselves. How do you want to make our entrance?"

"Just go straight in, knock them out, then get out of there."

"The person with the least number of takedowns treat the winner to a meal?"

"I'm not going to lose this bet, Volk. I will never deny myself a free meal."

"Say that when you finally beat me."

"Why are you suddenly so interested in getting rid of these pirates? I remembered that this particular group is pretty small. You can just leave it to the police." Flint mentioned offhandedly before he remembered something. A sly smile works its way to his face as he looks at Volkner with a knowing gaze.

"Come to think of it, your girlfriend will be coming to visit soon. _Aww_, how _thoughtful_ of you."

"She's _not_ my-"

"You two even exchanged pokemon. Do you know that in some places, a girl and a guy exchanging pokemon is considered as a form of engagement?"

"What era do you live in? This is the _modern_ society, Flint. Many people exchange pokemon everyday and I don't see them getting engaged because of it."

"Seriously though, when are you two getting married? I can't wait to be an uncle already."

"She lives in Johto and I in Sinnoh. There's no way she can come to live here permanently due to her work."

"Huh, is that why you are so insistent on trying to quit being a Gym Leader? So that you can go and live with her in Johto?"

"Shut up, Flint. I told you we are not in that kind of relationship."

"Don't even deny it, you two obviously have a thing for each other. You guys have been keeping in contact for years."

"I see the island." Volkner cut Flint's words off as a small island came into view. "I don't think they noticed us yet. Want to take a ride with Myst's Teleport?"

"I'm so going to win this bet, Volk."

"The one who barks the loudest have the weakest bite."

Volkner released his gallade out as the psychic pokemon teleported the two trainers onto the island. The brothers released their entire team out for battle immediately, who are already raring to go.

Time for a showdown.

* * *

"Thirty-eight! Damn, who said that this group is small? There are so many of them!"

"Forty! You need to work harder if you don't want to lose, Flint!"

Volkner's rhyperior, Tec, bulldozed his way through the mass of pirates using his large size. His tough armour prevented him from suffering any damage as it used himself as a battering ram to clear the way. Puddle stayed at the beach where he prevents any stragglers from making their escape into the vast sea.

"Might, Mach Punch!"

Flint's infernape took down a golem with a single punch just as Myst appeared in a Teleport and took out another group of the pirates' pokemon with a powerful Psycho Cut. Burner shot intense cones of flames as Franky zipped around the place in a flash of yellow, striking down everything that stands in his way.

"Simba, Wild Charge!"

Volkner's luxray blitzed through the crowd with huge amount of electricity coating his body. ISpy, Volkner's magnezone, shot down flying types with precise bursts of Shock Waves, allowing them to retain aerial superiority as Soar, Flint's Talonflame, hovered overhead as she sniped her targets on the ground with ground support from Flare, Flint's Flareon.

"Fifty-two!"

"Fifty-five! I'm going to win, Flint! Start thinking on what you want to treat me to later!"

"Like hell that will happen! Burner! Lava Plume!"

A massive wave of raging flames washed over Flint's side of the battlefield just as Franky unleashed a Discharge. The combination of lightning and fire took out a huge portion of their foes. Many had started to flee.

"North, trap them with Rock Tomb!"

Volkner's probopass summoned rocks of massive sizes and cut off the escape of the pirates. Buzz, Flint's volcarona, took this chance to knock them out with a head splitting Bug Buzz.

"Hey, those are mine!"

"Too bad! Eighty-four!"

"Damn it! Jo!"

Jo jumped into the fray in a streak of yellow and unleashed massive waves of Discharge at another group of pirates. Tec blasted the pirates' pokemon aside with a Rock Wrecker, clearing the way for the rest of Volkner's team.

"Ninety! Suck it up, Flint! I'm winning this!"

"Hey, that's their boss, right?" Flint put a temporary pause in their heated competition as he pointed to an escaping figure far away from them.

"Yeah, leave that to me. Myst! Take him out!"

The elusive gallade made a sudden reappearance in front of the pirates' boss and knocked him out with a well-placed chop. Flint took Volkner's temporary distraction to command his pokemon.

"Fuse, Shell Trap!"

Flint's turtonator turned around and used her shell to block the incoming attacks from the pirates' pokemon before unleashing a massive explosion of fire on her foes. Flint can't help but congratulate himself on his quick thinking. This attack just evened the odds.

"I'm not losing this! Franky! Thunder!"

"Burner! Overheat!"

A massive collection of energy erupted at the pirates' location. Soar quickly used her wings to disperse the resulting smoke. When the smoke cleared, the pirates lay on the ground defeated and unable to move. They were either knocked out or groaning on the floor in pain.

"I took out a hundred and twenty-five, you?"

"What?!" Flint yelled out in both shock and frustration. "Me too!"

"Damn it." Volkner grumbled as their pokemon starts to slowly make their way back to them. "Why do everything that we compete in always ends in a draw?"

"How the hell would I know? And how are we getting these pirates back to the mainland?"

"Uh…" Volkner stroked his chin in thought as he looked upwards to the sky. "I never thought that far, to be honest. I wasn't even expecting to really find the pirates."

"And you brought me out here just like that?"

"Why not?" Volkner gave a shrug. "It's not like we have anything better to do anyway."

"Volkner!"

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**


	3. Chapter 3- Daily Routine

"This will be a six-on-six battle. The Gym Leader will not be able to switch pokemon for this match. No items are allowed. Are both sides ready?"

Kayla gave a look at both the challenger today and at Volkner, who is standing in his box lazily and giving a yawn.

_Damn it, Volkner! This is no time to fall asleep on your job!_

"Go houndoom!"

The challenger, a Dark Specialist who goes by the name of Alvis Greenland, sent out a snarling houndoom for battle as Volkner lazily threw a pokeball into the air. Squeaky, his raichu, appeared as she announced her appearance with buzzes of electricity.

Alvis is a very talented advanced level trainer that had breezed through the gym trainers with ease. Kayla isn't so sure if he can survive the team Volkner uses to entertain advanced level challengers though.

"Nasty Plot, then Flamethrower!"

"Squeaky, Light Screen. Then Rain Dance."

The huge cone of flames was blocked by a psychic pane of barrier. Squeaky used the mayhem to her advantage as she used her powers to summon rain clouds within the gym.

"Thunder."

A huge roaring Thunder collapsed from the sky. It would have taken houndoom out if it wasn't for its quick reaction to use a Protect to shield itself from the attack.

"Again."

Houndoom unleashed a Fire Blast to destroy the next Thunder as it sped around trying to sneak in pot-shots at Squeaky at the same time.

"Again."

Squeaky nimbly dodged houndoom's attacks as she repeatedly summoned Thunders down without rest. Kayla can only wince at the sight. Volkner is really not giving any chance to Alvis. Alvis is good for his age but he is facing Volkner. Volkner seems to not be in the mood to go easy on his challengers for today.

"Shadow Ball! Disperse the rain clouds!"

"Volt Tackle, take the houndoom out."

Faster than what anyone can react, a yellow blur of electricity crashed into houndoom and slammed it into the other end of the arena, taking it out. From the looks on Alvis's face, he wasn't expecting his houndoom to be taken out in this manner.

Squeaky gave a little cheer at the outcome of this battle while Volkner just gave another yawn. Alvis simply palmed another pokeball in his hand before sending in his next pokemon.

"Skuntank, Poison Gas! Then Dark Pulse!"

"Protect, then get rid of the Dark Pulse."

Squeaky defended herself from the toxic gas before releasing a massive Discharge to disperse skuntank's Dark Pulse. Skuntank used this opportunity to get closer as it tried to slash at Squeaky with a Night Slash and succeeded.

"Counter."

Squeaky's Counter pushed skuntank back as she followed up with Thunder Punches of her own. Skuntank hid itself with a Double Team to evade the attack and used a Taunt to force Squeaky to use only offensive moves.

"Smokescreen, then Flamethrower!"

Skuntank released a stinky cloud of gas that engulfed the entire area and got everyone there to pinch their nose from the smell. A hot blast of flames ignited the gas, resulting in a huge explosion.

"Huh, not bad. I think Flint used that same tactic too a few times. Squeaky, you alright pal?"

A burst of electricity dispersed the smoke as Squeaky panted for breath but still not out for the count yet. That Flamethrower-induced explosion had gotten her good.

"Think you can go for another Volt Tackle before going to rest?"

Squeaky's response is to charge up a massive amount of electricity before charging straight in at speed too fast for the human eye to comprehend. A resounding boom later, skuntank suffered the same fate as houndoom and lay on the ground unconscious. Squeaky wobbled and then fall back down to the ground. The recoil from her Volt Tackle took herself out as well.

"Good job, Squeaky, return. Your turn, Scrat."

Volkner's pachirisu bounced excitedly as he appeared for battle. Scrat isn't really a battler and the pachirisu species don't make good battlers in the first place. Still, Scrat can be a wicked foe to face when given the right motivation.

Alvis sent out a cacturne for battle next and immediately gave his command.

"Spikes! Then Energy Ball!"

Large number of spikes appeared on the arena as cacturne shot them out of his body while spinning on the spot. A few seconds later, cacturne fired a huge barrage of Energy Balls at Scrat, who is hesitating on whether to move around due to the number of sharp spikes on the floor.

"Magnet Rise. Counter with Electro Ball."

Scrat immediately levitated into the air with Magnet Rise and countered the barrage of Energy Balls with his own Electro Balls, producing a huge explosion that rocked the arena.

"Get close and use Hyper Fang."

Scrat dove down in a burst of speed and bit on cacturne with his sharp front teeth, eliciting a pain cry from cacturne. Cacturne retaliated with a Needle Arm but Scrat used a Double Team to make his escape. Undeterred, cacturne used a Feint Attack to seek Scrat out and connect its attack onto the pachirisu.

Kayla looked on. Scrat couldn't possibly hold for long since his species is really fragile in combat. Scrat is pretty well-trained for a pachirisu but the physical limit he can possibly reach dictates how far he can go in battles. It is already a miracle that he can hold his own on a battle of this calibre.

"Thunder Wave, then Volt Switch to Bask."

Scrat acknowledged Volkner's command with a controlled streak of electricity that zapped at cacturne and paralysed it. Cacturne tried to put up a Spiky Shield to defend from Scrat's Volt Switch but the paralysis had delayed his reaction time, allowing Scrat to get a clean hit in.

Scrat immediately switched out and Bask, Volkner's heliolisk, appeared in place of Scrat. Volkner may not be allowed to switch his pokemon in a gym battle, but the effects of moves like Volt Switch and U-Turn are still well within the rules of the match.

"Low Sweep."

Bask dashed in and knocked cacturne off its feet as it tried in vain to block the attack. Bask ignored the damage it received from cacturne's Spikes as it uses a Rock Tomb to deal damage onto it before knocking cacturne out with a Bulldoze.

"Not bad, kid." Volkner said with a yawn. "Send out your next pokemon."

Alvis visibly gritted his teeth in frustration but sent out a massive drapion, his fourth pokemon for this match. The drapion clicked its claws in a threatening manner with poison oozing out of it but Bask isn't even the least afraid of the large behemoth.

"Toxic Spikes, then Brutal Swing!"

"Surf! Wash all the spikes away and Electrify!"

A massive wall of water rose and washed across the entire arena, cleaning the arena of any traces of Spikes and Toxic Spikes at the same time. Bask took drapion's Brutal Swing head on, which did not deal as much damage as it should since Electrify transformed the typing of Brutal Swing into an electric type, mitigating the damage for Bask.

"Parabolic Charge, don't let up!"

A huge focused blast of electricity shot into drapion as Bask attacked it relentlessly. Bask's small size and natural agility allowed it to run circles around the massive drapion, not allowing the drapion to connect its attack on him as Bask slowly wore him down.

"Drapion, Earthquake!"

"Magnet Rise!"

Bask dodged drapion's powerful attack by levitating himself into the air while still maintaining his barrage of Parabolic Charge, stealing some health back for himself in the process. Drapion gave a roar of defiance and shot a huge barrage of Pin Missile but Bask destroyed it with a Thunderbolt.

Volkner is a genius when it comes to teaching the move Magnet Rise to any pokemon capable of learning it. For other trainers, they could only teach their pokemons to float in the air with Magnet Rise. But for pokemons under Volkner's tutelage?

They can _fly_ with Magnet Rise.

Bask flew nimbly in the air as it used the opportunity to blast huge bursts of electricity on the drapion. A massive Thunder later, the drapion lay on the ground as a smoking heap, unable to continue fighting.

Alvis seemed to despair at the fact that he only took out one pokemon on Volkner's side, but sent in his fifth pokemon, a krookodile.

"Ah crap, a ground type? Bask, Surf and Grass Knot."

A massive wave of water rushed at krookodile but it stood its ground and raised its elevation with a Stone Edge. The platform of stone is just large enough to raise krookodile away from harm.

Tendrils of grass shot out from the ground and snared krookodile, who wasted no time in freeing itself by burning the grass down with an Incinerate. It turned to Bask, only to receive a Return to his face.

"Toxic."

A huge dose of venom was injected into krookodile as it screamed in pain and snapped at Bask furiously with its massive jaws. Bask got out of the way and used a Low Sweep once more, knocking the krookodile down.

Bask is just too nimble. Nothing the krookodile do can hit him.

"Sand Tomb!"

Krookodile roared as it engulfed the entire arena in a Sand Tomb. Bask got himself caught in the violent winds of the attack and krookodile used the chance to get Bask back onto the ground with a Smack Down and opened its jaws wide.

"Flash, blind it."

A bright surge of light hurt everyone's eyes and by the time it died down, Bask is raining down a series of rapid blows on the krookodile, who is still trying to adjust to the sudden handicap to his sense of sight.

"Foul Play!"

"Electrify, and Iron Tail!"

Bask reduced the damage taken with Electrify once more and strike back with an Iron Tail. However, it had overextended himself as krookodile caught him by his tail and used a Smack Down. A massive Earthquake then took him out.

"Not bad, not bad." Volkner complimented with approving nods of his head at Alvis as he returned Bask to his pokeball. "_Now_ I am getting excited."

Volkner's ampharos, Fluffy, appeared for battle next. Fluffy is actually nearing the level of Volkner's main team. If Volkner sent her out, then it means that he is finally taking the challenger seriously.

Alvis is so screwed.

"Dragon Pulse."

A massive draconic beam of energy blasted krookodile and sent it flying into the air. A subsequent Focus Blast took it out for the count.

Kayla and Alvis both dropped their jaws at the sight. This is not the first time Kayla had saw Fluffy in battle, but that was a little too quick! Since when did Fluffy grow to be that strong?!

It was with a grim expression on his face that Alvis sent out his last pokemon, a weavile, for battle. Judging from Alvis's look, he knows that his defeat his imminent.

"Charge Beam."

A Charge Beam the size of an overpowered Thunderbolt tore through the ground it travelled and kept weavile busy as it tried to find cover from the attack. Fluffy didn't let up as she continued her attack as Volkner yawned once more.

"Blow everything up with Discharge, let's end this."

Her years of experience in working at Sunyshore Gym warned her of the danger as Kayla ducked her head and seek cover just as Fluffy exploded into a surge of lightning, tearing the arena into shreds.

Arceus save the poor weavile.

Kayla peeked her head out and tried to see the outcome through the resulting smoke. The outcome should be obvious, but she wants to be sure. She is the referee and she have a job in making sure that she makes fair judgements.

Alvis's weavile lay unconscious on the ground with smoke wafting from its burnt body. Guess this is Volkner's win.

"You are good, kid. Not many can motivate me enough to use Fluffy on an advanced level battle." Volkner said with a satisfied tone in his voice as he walked down and gave Alvis an encouraging pat on his shouder. Fluffy trotted to stand beside Volkner and tugged on his shirt, demanding a pat on the head for a job well done, something which Volkner obliged.

"Here, my Beacon Badge. Take it, kid, you earned it. And oh! Kayla! One of those Charge Beam TM please!"

Kayla threw down the TM disc to Volkner like how she throws a frisbee. Volkner caught it and passed it on to Alvis, who received his prized with a gobsmacked expression on his face.

"B-But I only beat two of your pokemon!"

"No one had beaten my entire team before and I still give my badges out anyway. My job as a Gym Leader is to guide and teach advanced level trainers while giving them hard enough challenges to motivate them. You still have a long way to go to even think about beating me, even Flint didn't manage that yet. Either way, you proved to me that you have what it takes to be an Elite trainer. Good luck on your conference, kid. You can try to beat me when you come back as an Elite trainer. My main team and I will be waiting for you."

Kayla watched on as Alvis stared at Volkner with looks of worship and idolisation. Despite his lazy personality, Volkner can be very inspiring.

Volkner stretched his arms lazily into the air and his bones resounded with a 'pop' after Alvis had left with a lighter skip in his steps.

"So, what do you think of that kid?"

"He could do better but he's not too bad, considering that he made you send out Fluffy."

Fluffy puffed out her chest at Kayla's words as Tec, who was resting nearby all along, idly repair the damages to the arena before going back to nap.

Like trainer, like pokemon.

"Do we have anymore challengers?"

"No, the gym trainers took care of all of them." Kayla reported to Volkner of today's happenings as Volkner looked seemingly in thought.

"How about a quick training session? You guys against me? Try to take me down this time."

Kayla's eye can't help but twitch a little. Going up against Volkner's main team is a nightmare. Doing it once is traumatising enough.

But then again, this is a rare learning opportunity. Training conducted by **_Volkner_** himself…

"Let me call the guys here, then we can start."

"Bravo!" Volkner clapped his hands once happily. "I will be waiting! I am feeling especially motivated today."

They are so getting themselves demolished by Volkner today.

* * *

"Hey, that's it? I thought you guys lasted longer the other time? Did you guys just forget everything that I taught you people about using Magnet Rise? Tec's Earthquake should be easily avoidable. We made it especially easy."

"We still can't get our pokemon to use Magnet Rise at the same speed your team can." Kayla grumbled as she fed a Revive to her manectric and starter, Woofy. "We know how it works thanks to your teachings, but applying it is a different story entirely."

"Ah, I guess it can't be helped. This kind of things takes experience and a lot of practice." Volkner rubbed the back of his head. "I guess more Earthquake avoiding session for you guys and your pokemon? Nothing helps your pokemon learn faster than a visible threat to their lives."

The face of every gym trainer and their pokemon paled at hearing Volkner's words. Tec is already slowly forming a grin on his rocky face and starting to spin his drill in excitement. The speed of the spin is slowly picking up.

"It's…It's fine! We can all do it ourselves in our free time! Haha…" Vicky, another gym trainer who is also an Electric Specialist, gave a nervous laugh as she said those words.

"Y-Yeah! We are totally capable of doing that ourselves! We are all advanced and Elite trainers! We can take care of ourselves! Right, guys?"

Marco's words got everyone nodding their head eagerly in agreement. No one wants to go through another one of those crazy Earthquake avoiding session that Volkner enjoys putting them through. It does produce results, since Earthquake is a favourite move of many advanced and Elite trainers in battling against electric types and any Electric Specialist should learn how to avoid or defend against that attack, but the training process isn't fun.

It is definitely not fun when Volkner's **_Tec_** is the one unleashing the Earthquakes.

"Well… in that case I will leave it to you guys to train at your own pace. On a side note, remember to rotate the pokemon you are helping the League to train, yeah? Any loaned pokemon evolved recently?"

"My alolan graveler just evolved into a golem." Joe reported. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"Just make sure you update the League's database. Ask Kayla if you are unsure how to do it. If there are any other problems, find me. Don't overtax your golem too, give it a few days of rest. Most pokemon need some time to adjust to their new body after their evolution, especially if they have a major physical change. Your golem now has two arms instead of four, it is going to have to get used to its new body before battling again."

"Got it."

The pokemon gym trainers used to battle challengers are those loaned to them by the Sinnoh League. These pokemon in the League's possession are in the temporary care of the gym trainers and it is their duty to get them up to the level that is strong enough to be given out to trainers employed by the Sinnoh League. Most trainers employed by the Sinnoh League participate in missions and duties that are often dangerous in nature and it is not uncommon for a trainer to lose a pokemon or two on a mission gone wrong. In that case, these trainers are given a choice to choose a pokemon held by the Sinnoh League to replace the one they lost if they wish it. This is a benefit given only to these trainers due to what they had sacrificed to help protect the peace in Sinnoh.

Sunyshore Gym is in charge of training electric types.

"Well, if there's nothing else…" Volkner gave _another_ yawn as his main team purposely mimicked their trainer's action for the fun of it. For those who can anyway. ISpy doesn't have a mouth to do so but that doesn't stop it from trying.

"**I will be going back to sleep**." The group of gym trainers chorused what Volkner will be going to say in a deadpan.

"Bingo!" Volkner said with a bright smile that seems to hold untold danger. "You guys are getting smarter! Kudos to all of you! Continue to work hard! If I don't see improvement in your pokemon's ability to use Magnet Rise by our next session I will make sure Tec has his fun with more Earthquake avoiding session for you guys! Just saying! No pressure! No pressure at all!"

Volkner walked out of the arena in a jolly manner as he left his gym trainers sweating silently in fear. It looks like they have to train round the clock to meet Volkner's expectation of them.

Arceus save them all.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**


	4. Chapter 4- Starters

Franky can never forget how he met Volkner.

He and his kind live at Route 222, a stretch of road near to the sea that leads to Sunyshore. Before Franky became Franky, he was an elekid living with his pack. There was nothing much to do there other than disturbing the fishermen there for the fun of it or escaping from trainers who tried to contain them in the contraption known as pokeball.

Life wasn't boring, but it wasn't exactly exciting either.

Franky don't know how long it had been since he was first born before he met Volkner.

It was just another ordinary day. Franky just strolled to the tree where he loves to rest under its shade. It is his favourite tree and close to no one will be there. It is the perfect spot for him to rest undisturbed.

But that day, someone was there. A _human_ was there and snoozing at his favourite spot under the shade of his favourite tree.

The human is just a youngling with bright yellow hair. Franky wasn't scared of this human. He knows just how weak and frail humans can be. So, he gave a loud whirr by rotating his arms at high speed, hoping to scare the human youngling off.

The weird human just opened his eyes, spotted him, and then patted on the ground next to him.

"This spot is pretty nice to nap at. Come on, you should try it out."

And then proceeded to go back to sleep.

_What?_

That was how Franky first met Volkner.

Volkner came back to visit every now and then. It soon became a daily occurrence for the both of them. Volkner will sometimes bring some food along if he can do so. From what Franky knew back then, Volkner is mostly left to fend for himself and he doesn't have a lot of food to share. He is barely managing to feed himself as it is. It still didn't stop him from trying to see if there is good food to share with Franky and Franky will return the favour by sharing some of the nice berries he found in the harsh wilderness.

The two of them will just laze about under his favourite tree. Sometimes Volkner will just nap, sometimes he will bring a book along to read with Franky providing some silent company or practising some of the difficult moves he saw the older members of his species is capable of doing.

Volkner soon told him of his dream to be a trainer and extended an invitation to Franky. He wants Franky to join him.

That was how Franky became Volkner's Franky.

Volkner managed to find himself a pokeball from somewhere to claim Franky as his own. Volkner brought Franky back to his hometown. It was where Franky met Flint and Burner. It was where Franky found a friend and rival in the form of Burner.

Flint and Volkner are inseparable. The two of them have no fear towards anyone and anything. The two humans will challenge any trainers on sight with just him and Burner. They lose more than they win initially, but they soon found themselves improving by leaps and bounds. Volkner also did his best to train him and help him amass power, power that he will one day accumulate and grow strong enough to evolve into an electivire, the final stage of his evolution that most member of his species will not reach if they remain in the wild.

When Volkner is finally old enough to venture out of Sunyshore, Franky is almost strong enough to evolve into an electabuzz. Flint had also started his travel, but the two human friends went on their separate ways to experience their own journey. Volkner and Franky soon met many other humans and pokemon. Their team grew bigger too. Simba, Jo, ISpy, Myst, Tec, North, and Puddle were the first few to join Volkner and him on their quest to grow stronger. They also found Squeaky and Scrat along the way, although the physical limitations that their species face didn't allow them to grow into battlers as strong as the rest of them could. There is a limit to how strong they can grow into. Volkner didn't really care about that. He still treats every single one of them as his equal and gave them the care and love that they all need. He also gave them the training that all of them are so eager to take part in. It wasn't long before the entire team grew strong.

They became so strong that they found Flint as their final opponent in the finals of their very first conference.

Their epic battle with Flint was the hardest one their team was put through at that point in time. Towards the end of the match, Franky was the only one left to fight for Volkner and Burner for Flint. It was just like old times when they would spar and practice their techniques against each other.

They had a draw.

Volkner and Flint were a little disappointed that there is still no clear winner between the two of them, but they took it with grace. Flint decided to stay in Sinnoh to train while Volkner chose to explore the vast world. The team was excited. They too want to see what this world could offer beyond their own region.

It was on this journey that their little family grew bigger and bigger. Franky now has more friends and comrades that share the same dream as him, to be the strongest electric type of their species.

For those who are electric type, that is. The rest of them who aren't electric type all have their own goals and dreams although it can basically be summarised into '_growing as strong as possible'_.

In Franky's opinion, they had all reached their dream. But what about their beloved trainer?

Volkner's dream is to just live a carefree and peaceful life, but somehow what he is doing seems to be steering him in the opposite direction. His trainer is just too talented and bright. There's no way he can live a normal peaceful life with what he is capable of. He is just too talented and because of that, he is always so busy. People always look to him to help solve their problems. It got to the point that he is so busy that he didn't even have the time to find a mate for himself.

If there's one thing Franky really cannot understand, it is how human courtship works. His trainer and the other female human are obviously attracted to each other. Volkner should just claim her as his own already! Just mark her as his and then get down to it and have a human egg! Before he knows it the egg will hatch and a human baby will pop out of there! It is that simple!

Uh… come to think about it, do human lay eggs? He will have to check with Myst or Jarvis later. They are the more knowledgeable ones on their team.

Franky do have to applaud Volkner's ability to attract strong humans to him. Volkner's future mate is an extremely strong trainer as well. They sparred against each other a few times and although the female and her team never won, it was close. The team that belongs to the female trainer is so absurdly hard to take down it is not even funny. Even Franky himself is a little wary of using his fists in combat against them. The last punch he delivered to one of the pokemon on her team had his fists aching and sore for days.

The only one on their team that can boast such defensive powers is probably North, but even North didn't have such solid defences. The female human is something else.

From what he can remember, Volkner's future mate should be coming over for a visit soon. Volkner also went to visit her in Johto a few times in the past although usually it is his mate doing the visiting. Volkner is just too busy trying to ensure Sunyshore can grow strong enough to defend itself even without him around. Volkner wants to quit being Sunyshore's Gym Leader as soon as possible and before he can do that, he has to make sure Sunyshore can continue to grow strong with or without him around.

That will take some time, but Franky has faith in his trainer and best friend. If anyone can do it, it will be Volkner.

Fluffy is especially excited at meeting Volkner's mate again. The female trainer is the one who gave Fluffy to Volkner and Fluffy had flourished under Volkner's teachings. They all had. Franky is excited too. It is a long while since he had a good battle with someone that can make their entire team go all out.

If only Volkner can find the motivation to finally work the laziness out of his bones and claim the female as his own, then they could have exciting battles all day long.

Hopefully that day isn't too far away.

* * *

"Kayla, we need more pokemon!"

"What?!" Kayla nearly screeched out as she barely had the time to type furiously on the keyboard to update the League's database on which pokemon they had just given out. "Didn't we **JUST** sent a box over?!"

"Can't be help! There are a lot of novice trainers getting their starters today! We need more!" Marco shouted back from where he is moving crates of pokeballs.

"Argh! Get Vicky to help out! Where's Volkner?!"

"He is at the arena helping these novice trainers choose their starters!"

If there's one single day every year that Volkner will definitely never sleep in or slack about, it is this day. The day when novice trainers in their city starting on their pokemon journey for the very first time comes to their gym to pick a pokemon as their starter.

There are many ways one can get their hands on their very first pokemon. They could befriend one in the wild, although that is highly discouraged due to the danger involved. The only one she knew that did that and came back alive in one piece is Volkner, who somehow befriended Franky as a wild elekid. People can also buy one from a pokemon breeding farm or receive one from their family or friends.

But for those without the same luck or connections, they would have to receive their starters from the League one way or another.

Their regional pokemon professor, Professor Rowan, gives out certain pokemon every year. It is a set of pokemon that people refer to as the 'regional starters', a unique set of fire, water, and grass type pokemon that every region has. These pokemon have the Blaze, Torrent, and Overgrow ability respectively. However, these species of pokemon are rare as they are strong, and not many can get their hands on them as a novice trainer. If a trainer starting out on their journey wants to receive one, they have to apply for it and sit through a series of tests before they can be considered as an applicant. For Sinnoh, their regional starters are the chimchar, piplup, and the turtwig line. Having even just one of the above three in a trainer's team can boost their firepower significantly.

However, only a select few every year will have the fortunate luck to receive a regional starter as their first pokemon. For any other normal trainer starting out on their very first journey, most of them receive their starters from the closest pokemon gym to where they live.

The pokemon that Sunyshore Gym is giving out now to novice trainers are all provided by the League. These are pokemon who are accustomed to living with humans and will not pose a danger even if someone as inexperienced as novice trainers are the ones handling them. They come in different typings, not just electric type. Still, most of these pokemon are electric types since Volkner is their Gym Leader. Electric types are his specialty and many of these novice trainers are inspired by him. He is the reason why many of them decided to be a pokemon trainer and Kayla knows that most of them are aiming to be Electric Specialist themselves.

She was once one of these kids. She still remembers the day when Volkner had helped her picked Woofy as her starter when she mentioned that she wants to be an Electric Specialist. Woofy is now her most loyal companion and the strongest pokemon on her team. Volkner does have a good eye when it comes to pokemon.

Right now, Volkner is doing the same thing by helping these novice trainers who will be starting on their journey today. Who knows? Maybe one of them here will grow strong enough to give Volkner a run for his money and maybe help him with his retirement plan? That will be fun to watch.

Although that probably won't happen until about a decade or two later. Volkner is just too strong to beat. Come to think of it, who is capable of beating him in a battle? Volkner is on the level of an Elite Four member. Did he ever challenge their Regional Champion, Cynthia? If so, what was the outcome?

She will have to remember to bug Volkner about that later.

Zap, her zebstrika, helped to pull the crates along into the arena where a long queue of novice trainers are waiting for their turn to pick their starters and meet the legendary Volkner face-to-face. She can understand their excitement. Choosing a pokemon to be a part of your team is a sacred process for any trainer. To top it off, their city's Gym Leader is helping them with the process.

Volkner is talking to a boy now. Given the type of pokemon that they are looking at, this boy is probably aspiring to be a Ground Specialist.

"-if you want something that has better defence, I say go for something like a rhyhorn." Volkner pointed to a stoic looking rhyhorn nearby with a finger. "There are only a few species of ground types in Sinnoh and the number of ground types we have in our region that is suitable for a novice trainer to handle are just a small handful. If you want something more unique, you can try picking the hippopotas over there. Their kind can grow to be extremely strong in battle too, just look at Bertha and her hippowdon."

"But I really want a gible…"

"Trust me, you should only try to handle a gible only when you are at least an intermediate level trainer in strength. They are Dragons first and ground type second, not the other way around. There's a good reason why there are so few Dragon Specialists around and why they tend to go so far in their trainer career. Dragons are strong, but they are also extremely hard to handle with ghosts as a close second. Put off these ambitious plans until you grow stronger as a trainer."

"Okay." The boy nodded his head once to show that he is listening and that he is convinced by Volkner's logic.

"So, your choice?"

"Erm, what about that gligar over there?" The boy pointed to a gligar that is clinging on to a nearby handrail using its tail while swaying in its upside down position.

"Huh, that one? You can try, but their kind can be a little hard to handle and they love to cause trouble for humans. Mostly harmless ones, but you will definitely have your hands full in trying to handle this little guy as your first pokemon. Expect to receive a lot of complaints from other people about the gligar on your journey if you really choose it as your starter."

"I still want to try having that gligar as my starter. I think I can do it."

"And I have faith that you will, kid." Volkner ruffled the boy's hair with a hand as the gligar finally noticed that it is their topic of discussion and peered at the boy curiously.

Kayla can't help but let a smile appear on her face. It is times like these that she feels that her job as a gym trainer, no matter how hectic and unthankful the job is, is worth it. Seeing how people meet their starters for the first time and the expression of joy that they display just makes her day.

Volkner probably feels the same way too.

* * *

"Finally!"

The group of gym trainers lay their backs on the floor in their lounge and let the exhaustion wash over them. The day is finally over. It is finally over.

"Can't believe we have so many trainers coming to our gym this year to receive their starter." Vicky groaned out as the rest of them nodded in agreement. "Why the sudden increase in the crowd? Last year wasn't so hectic."

"The kids absolutely love Volkner. You think?" Marco quipped from where he is. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

The door to their lounge opens just right at that very instance.

"Oh, so this is where you guys are." Volkner made his appearance with Squeaky and Scrat following behind. Volkner looked at the sight displayed in front of him.

"Your stamina sucks. How can you guys get so tired easily?"

"You aren't the one trying to update the database at the speed of light." Kayla shot back.

"You aren't the one moving crates of pokeballs every five minutes." Marco added.

"You guys aren't the one helping trainers to pick their starters from dawn to dusk." Volkner retorted. "I have been there helping trainers choose their starters since early morning and I only had a sandwich in the afternoon as my only meal. I did everything without rest, a one-man show to boot. You guys at least have enough manpower to take short breaks in between. Do you see me complaining?"

The rest of the gym trainers clamped their mouths shut. They were all so absorbed in recounting the sufferings they experienced today that they forgot that Volkner had it the hardest.

"As for updating the database." Volkner's next words got Kayla's attention immediately. Did she do something wrongly? "Well, I had Jarvis find some time to go through it on top of his usual duties in protecting the city and he found some mistakes. He had already rectified it though, so there's nothing else to follow up on other than wait for the League's confirmation from the HQ's side. That will be your job, Kayla. Good job, everyone. I know it has been a hectic day for everybody. Thanks for helping out."

"So, are you treating us to a meal?" Marco asked hopefully.

"The eatery near the east side of town? The Sunyshore seafood double combo meal?" Chris, another gym trainer of Sunyshore, asked with equal amount of anticipation as he started to drool at the thought of food.

"_Please_?" Kayla asked with wide pleading eyes.

"Sure, why not?" Volkner answered with a shrug. "Last one out of this room walks there by himself or herself. The rest can hitch a ride with Myst's Teleport."

The lounge immediately exploded into a stampede. Kayla never felt her neurons firing at such a rapid speed before as she dashed for the door that Volkner just walked out of.

Only for her to bump into something invisible and fall on her back. This brief delay was enough to allow the rest of her fellow gym trainers to get out of the room before her.

"Guess it's Kayla's turn to walk. Everyone, say your thanks to our beloved head gym trainer."

"Thanks, Kayla! Your sacrifice won't be forgotten!" Vicky waved happily as the rest of the gym trainers followed her example. Scrat put a tiny paw over his mouth as he snickered from his position on the floor and Kayla's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

It _must_ be Scrat. It _has_ to be him. She doesn't know how he did it but Scrat is a certified troublemaker and prankster. He must have done something to make her fall earlier.

"Well, see you later, Kayla. Don't be too late! Remember to lock up the gym before leaving!"

"W-Wait!"

Volkner gave a cheery wave at her as Myst appeared in a Teleport and took the entire group with him a split second later, leaving Kayla at her spot with her mouth hanging and her hand still stretched out in the direction where the group had just disappeared.

Kayla can feel her body shaking uncontrollably in annoyance. There's no way this wasn't planned somehow. Knowing them, Scrat and Volkner are doing this on purpose to get on her nerves.

The two little shits.

"**VOLKNER**!"

* * *

**AN: This story is surprisingly easy to write so far, but it may be because it is in the beginning phase and I don't have to think too hard about the plot yet. **

**In any case, I hope you guys enjoy this story.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**


	5. Chapter 5- Making a Difference

"Cooooooool!"

"I know, right? With Simba around, I don't have to worry about trying to find my misplaced keys or the sorts. He can simply take a look and spot it immediately."

"Really? Can we try it out?"

"Yeah, sure."

Mary Whiteheart let a small smile form on her face from where she is sitting under the shade of a large tree. She watches the interactions between Volkner and the kids she is in charge of taking care for in the orphanage in contentment and let her mind wander back to many years ago when Volkner was under her care. This place used to be Volkner's home until he was old enough to go on his pokemon journey.

How time flies.

The orphanage was understaffed back then, and Mary did not have the time to take care of each child individually. She knows that some of the bigger kids tend to bully the younger ones, but they were always smart enough to do it behind her back. She never had proof that the bigger kids bullied the younger ones into submission and she never had the time to investigate. It was one of her biggest regrets and shortcomings as the matron of the orphanage.

It is different now.

Volkner is now a very busy man with his status as Sunyshore's Gym Leader. Despite that, he always made sure to come and drop by for a visit whenever he is free. He helps out wherever he could and he never fails to amaze the kids with the pokemon he had collected on his team and his vast knowledge on pokemon. As the time goes by, the bigger kids who preferred to show their dominance through bullying had all stopped their undesirable behaviour when Volkner had frowned upon it. Volkner is an idol to these kids and they all listen to him. To them, he is the cool older brother figure that they want but never had. He is someone that they can all look up to and strive to be.

Volkner had helped filled the gaping hole in their hearts to make their lives as orphans a little more bearable.

As orphans, most of the kids here are broken in one way or another, some more than the others. Volkner's presence had helped fixed their broken selves and instil some confidence in them. He knows what these kids truly need at this stage of their lives and he is trying to give it to them to the best of his ability.

Because he was once like them too.

Most of Sunyshore would not know of Volkner's regular visits to the orphanage but this is no secret to those around him. Over time, his gym trainers who got wind of his regular visits here had also all started to visit the orphanage with him out of curiosity. Soon, it became a weekly occurrence for the entire staff of Sunyshore Gym to help out in the orphanage whenever they can.

The kids were ecstatic that there are now more people to play with.

This is also not public knowledge, but Volkner himself also made regular donations in huge amounts to the orphanage or any charity whose cause is to help children in one way or another. It is obvious that he has a soft spot for kids. Volkner is a member of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars and Mary knows that he earns a lot due to how prestigious the position he holds. You need a lot of skill and talent to be considered as a member of the Thirteen Pillars, something that Volkner has in spades. After all, only the brightest and strongest thirteen trainers in Sinnoh are eligible for the position. It is understandable that they will be heavily remunerated by the League for their services to the region.

The income Volkner earns from his position as Gym Leader alone is mind-blowing. Volkner also receives regular royalty income from the design of the solar panel that he had invented with his porygon-z, making him even richer. She had also heard rumours that Volkner had made several investments here and there in real estates to multiply his already sizable wealth over the years. Out of curiosity, Mary herself had did a rough estimate of Volkner's current wealth based on what she knows and from her findings, Volkner can probably retire right now and still be able to live very comfortably for the rest of his life.

To sum it up, Volkner is loaded with money. The once penniless and nameless boy with nothing to his name is now one of the richest citizens of Sunyshore. He had climbed his way up purely with his own ability and hard work.

Even so, Volkner had never once flaunted his wealth or his achievements. In fact, the clothes he usually wears are simple and plain clothes. If there is a little tear or if it got damaged, he will usually opt to try and repair it instead of condemning it. She had visited his house once, a small unassuming cottage that she will never associate as Volkner's residence. Volkner hardly spends on anything frivolous. The only exception seems to be food as one of Volkner's hobby is to try out delicious cuisines, but he never spends exorbitant amount of money on it either. He usually spends just enough to satisfy his cravings.

The gym trainers who had tagged along with Volkner are also entertaining the children in their own ways. Some are trying to help them out with their homework. Some are teaching them more about pokemon in general. Some are playing simple games with them, trying to let the kids have as much fun as possible in this short period of time that they are able to visit.

This day of the week is the day the kids are always looking forward to. It allows them to have something to look forward to every week. They are all now more motivated and are channelling their energy to do something more productive with their free time with what they had learnt from Volkner and his gym trainers. Flint drops by sometimes, but he is a lot busier as a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four. His appearance is a rare occurrence.

"Alright! We had hidden it!"

"What did you guys hide?" Volkner asked with a laugh as he ruffled their hair with a hand.

"A book! '_The basic guide to electric types'_ written by Wattson himself!" Jimmy, one of the older boys who was once a bully but changed for the better after interacting with Volkner, said with enthusiasm as he bounced on his feet excitedly.

"Ah, that is a good book. I relied on that to learn the basic knowledge of electric types when I was your age." Volkner gave a nod as he heard the boy's reply.

"It is the same book that you used! We saw your scribbles on it!" Kim, a girl who is younger than most of her companions, added as she raised her hand up in the air.

"Those were the notes that I made myself. Were they useful?"

"They sure are!" Martin, one of the boys that Mary is sure will choose to be a trainer in the future, replied to his idol's question. Even a short interaction with Volkner is able to make him giddy with joy for an entire day.

Volkner is just that loved by the kids here.

"Hey, hey! Can you show us what you said Simba can do? Please?" Laura, another girl who also aspires to be a trainer in the future, cut into the conversation politely yet excitedly.

"Alright. Simba, show them what you can do."

Volkner patted the huge luxray lounging about beside him on the ground. The large feline took a sweeping gaze around his area and used one of his front paws to point at a rock not too far away from the group.

"Whoa! Simba really has X-ray vision!"

"Simba can see through walls! It's real!"

"So COOOOOLL!"

"I want a luxray too when I finally become a trainer! Imagine all the things I can do with a luxray!"

Simba gave an amused huff as he returned to napping beside his trainer, who is leaning his body on the large feline from where he is sitting on the ground. Some of the kids are playing with his other pokemon. Some of the pokemon that Volkner has belongs to species that are known to be ferocious and destructive if encountered in the wild, but they don't display any of these characteristics when interacting with the kids here. There are a few energetic boys hanging from Franky's strong arms. A few of the girls are cooing over Jo's fur as they helped to brush Jo's coat, making her purr in contentment. ISpy is giving some of the smaller kids a free ride in the air by letting them sit on him. Even Whirr, Volkner's eelektross, whose species is one of the most vicious hunters in its natural habitat, is playing hide-and-seek with some of the younger kids here.

Mary remembered that Volkner had always told her that pokemon can be man's best friend if you give them the proper love and care no matter the species. She had never understood it because she isn't a trainer, but she can now see why Volkner had made that statement. His words held truth.

"You kiddos are still too young to tame a pokemon. Wait till you guys turn eleven. I will help you to pick out your starter personally when that day comes."

"But you got Franky even before eleven!"

"Franky was friendly. Not all wild pokemon are like that. You can say I was extremely lucky that I got Franky as my best friend."

Franky gave his usual big smile at the words from his trainer.

"Can you show us something cool?"

"Like?"

"Uh… battle! Battle someone!"

"And who will want to battle me? I'm too strong for most people." Volkner gives a teasing smile at the kids crowded around him as Simba opens a lazy eye at the mention of a battle.

"Battle Cynthia! There aren't any records of you battling Cynthia before! We checked!"

"Nah, I will probably lose." Volkner gave a lazy wave of his hand. "Her garchomp's ground typing is enough to wall most of my team. Only Puddle or Tec have a fair chance to go up against it. Maybe Myst too, depending on the circumstances. The rest of her team is fair game though."

"So, so." Martin began to jump excitedly as he asked his next question. "If Cynthia doesn't have a garchomp on her team, you can beat her?"

"_Probably_. I'm not too sure." Volkner answered with a shrug. "We hardly meet each other so I don't really have a chance to see for myself what our Champion is really made of. But if she can beat Flint with no problems, she can probably beat me too."

"_Awwww maaaan_." Jimmy whined upon hearing those words. "Imagine if you are the Champion!"

"Nah, too troublesome."

"But big bro Volkner! _Champion_! The _strongest_ in Sinnoh!"

"If you are truly strong and capable, people will still acknowledge you with or without a fancy title. If you don't deserve the title, then no matter how many you got for yourself, no one will care about you. To deserve a title, you need to earn it, kid. Learn how to grow strong before thinking about what you can do if you are strong."

The children all gave a perplexed tilt of their heads. Most of them are still too young to understand what Volkner is talking about.

"Well, since we still have some time before me and my gym trainers have to go back to the gym, how about experiencing for yourselves how it feels like to fly in the air? Anyone up for it?"

"**YAY**!"

The kids in the vicinity all cheered at the suggestion while the faces of the gym trainers all paled.

"V-Volkner! Our pokemon hasn't completely mastered Magnet Rise yet!"

"All the more incentive to not screw it up, yeah? Don't worry, Myst will make sure none of the kids get injured if your pokemon is still unable to use Magnet Rise properly."

"Electric types can _fly_?!" Some of the kids asked aloud as they looked at the pokemon around them in amazement.

"If they are capable of learning Magnet Rise, then yes. They can fly properly if you give them enough training of the right kind. In fact, any pokemon that is able to learn Magnet Rise can possibly achieve this, not just electric types, although most electric types are capable of learning this move naturally." Volkner said as he gestured for Simba to give a demonstration. "Anyone wants to see a flying luxray?"

"**ME**!"

The collective cheers from the kids is enough motivation for the huge luxray to get on his feet. A powerful leap later, the luxray is now hovering in the air and began to freely glide in the air above the group, prompting cries of excitement from the children.

"Many of you want to be Specialists in the future, right? Then remember this. This applies for anyone who wants to be a Specialist, not just Electric Specialist." Volkner began to impart some of his knowledge about pokemon and Mary noted that even his gym trainers are listening intently on what he is going to say next.

"To me, what it means to be a Specialist is not just being able to train pokemon of your specialised typing extremely well. To be a true Specialist, you must also be equally capable of training pokemons of other typings in the moves that coincides with the typing that you specialised in."

"Huh, what?" Kim asked in confusion. Her question is also mimicked by many others around her.

"North, show them a Thunderbolt. Whirr, you too."

Both Volkner's probopass and eelektross released a large amount of electricity into the air that got everyone near them to cover their eyes from the surge of bright light.

"See that? What is the difference between the Thunderbolts? In case you guys don't know, North isn't an electric type, by the way."

"Can't tell the difference." Kim provided an honest answer straightaway.

"Exactly. I am an Electric Specialist. I not only specialise in training electric types, but I also specialise in teaching _any_ pokemon that is capable of learning electric type moves to use these moves with the same proficiency as electric types. To me, this is what it means to be a true Specialist. Any of my non-electric types here are capable of using their electric type moves as though they are electric type themselves. They can use their electric type moves as well, or even better than other electric types because they were taught to do so by me, an Electric Specialist."

The kids all gave a look of awe at their city's idol as they also glanced at Volkner's pokemon who are not electric types. They are now seeing them in a new light.

"So, learn something new today?" Volkner asked with a yawn. "Who wants to be a Specialist that is not an Electric Specialist anyway?"

"I am going to be a Fire Specialist like Flint! And I am going to beat the both of you one day!"

"I am going to be a Steel Specialist! I am going to make steel type moves and pokemon awesome!"

"I-I will definitely be a Rock Specialist! Rock types are cool too!"

"I will see if I can get my hands on any books or notes from my friends so that you guys can get a headstart." Volkner gave a stretch as he mentally noted down the materials the kids will need to be future pokemon trainers. "You guys have your work cut out for you."

"We will beat you one day!"

"I can't wait for that day to come already." Volkner replied with a grin. "I will be extremely happy if there is someone not from the Thirteen Pillars that is able to defeat me at my best."

"What is there to be happy about in losing?" One of the girls who has been sitting silently in a corner by herself and cuddling Squeaky close to her suddenly spoke out. This girl is Anne, who is a very reserved girl due to the physical abuse she experienced from her parents when she was younger. Her circumstances were soon found out by the police and her parents were subsequently taken to jail. However, she doesn't have any other relatives to take her in and hence found her way here to the orphanage.

In Mary's opinion, Anne hasn't fully recovered from her trauma yet, but Mary thinks that Anne is on the road to make a full recovery. The presence of Volkner and his gym trainers had helped to speed up the process significantly.

Volkner ruffled the top of her head in a brotherly manner before giving his answer.

"How else will life be exciting if you always win? Sometimes you need to lose in order to grow. It is how we become stronger in both mind and body."

"But losing hurts."

"But that also means that you care. If losing doesn't hurt at all, then you got to seriously consider if what you are pursuing is truly worth your time." Volkner gave a small laugh at the innocent reply from Anne. "Don't worry too much about this for now, just enjoy your time as a kid while you can."

"Can I have a pichu when I am older?" Anne asked Volkner one last question as she hugged Squeaky close to her. Squeaky seemed to enjoy the hug with how she is nestling close to Anne. "They make nice hug buddies when they evolve into a raichu."

"I will make sure to reserve one for you if I find one, Anne. That is a promise."

* * *

"That was fun." Joe commented to his fellow gym trainers and his Gym Leader as they all made their way back to the gym. They had opted to take the scenic route by walking instead of Teleporting with Myst's help.

"It feels like we are able to do something meaningful. I am glad that we can help the kids with what we are good at. The fact that most of them aims to be pokemon trainers helps, I guess. I don't know what else to teach them if they aren't interested in becoming a trainer." Vicky said her thoughts out loud as she fell in step with her friends.

"Realistically, that is the only route most of them can take." Volkner suddenly broke his silence as he walked at the front of the group and spoke without looking back at them. "How else can they survive in this world after they leave the protection of the orphanage? For orphans, being a pokemon trainer is the fastest way to earn financial independence since the League gives huge monetary benefits to all trainers when they first start out on their journey. The League always have a demand for new trainers to join their ranks. This is why no matter your background, you will receive financial aid the moment you signed up to be a trainer. It is the best choice for us orphans to get out of poverty."

The gym trainers were all taken aback by Volkner's words. Was this why he became a trainer?

Volkner didn't see their shocked looks since he never turned around, but he carried on speaking.

"For orphans, there are other ways to survive in society other than becoming a trainer, but it won't be easy. I don't know how else to help those kids who aren't interested in becoming trainers either. What I can do, is to help kids who wants to be trainers with what I am good at. If by spending time with them and teaching them more about pokemon can help them to go further in life later on, then it is what I will do. It sucks being alone in this big world with no one to fall back on. I can't give them monetary support or stay by their side forever, but I can help teach them how to earn their own money in the future by giving them the necessary knowledge."

"Is this… because of your…"

"Background? History? Upbringing?" Volkner completed Kayla's unfinished sentence as he turned his head a little to look at them by the edge of his vision with the same sleepy look on his face. "It is a huge reason, but I personally feel that this world can be a lot more beautiful if everyone learns how to give a little. Not everyone is as fortunate as us. If you so much as take a closer look when you walk around the city, you can see that many people around us actually needs some form of help one way or another. Sometimes, all they need is some form of support and it may not always be about the money."

"How much do you donate to the orphanage and the charities every year?" Marco suddenly blurt out. "We all know you donate a lot, but we never know how much."

Volkner rubbed his chin in thought with a single hand as his pokemon walks beside him.

"Probably about 30% to 40% of what I earn? I don't really keep track of how much exactly. I have no need for so much money anyway, might as well use it for a good cause. There's only so much that I can spend by myself."

"That is probably already more than my annual wage." Chris muttered under his breath. The wage he earns as a gym trainer isn't a small amount and Volkner simply donates an even larger sum without much thought.

Just _how_ rich is he?

"I am not saying that you guys have to donate your money." Volkner said with a laugh as he continues to stroll at a leisurely pace. "In my opinion, the fact that you guys used your free time to spend it with the kids is something more valuable than what money can buy. These kids need more love and attention than money. Trust me, I had seen it for myself when I was still at the orphanage as a kid. Sometimes, all they need is a little bit of care from someone else."

"So, we made a difference, huh?" Vicky whispered as she frowned in thought.

"Yes, you did, Vicky. You all did. You have no idea how happy you made them today simply by spending a few hours with them." Volkner confirmed Vicky's thoughts as he lets the gentle sea breeze caress his face like what the rest of them are doing as well. Volkner gave them another gentle smile before saying his next sentence.

"Sometimes, a simple action can make a whole lot of difference to someone else. Never forget that."

* * *

**AN: I found myself stuck at writing my other main stories for about a week or two now, so here I am. I only got around to finally find the inspiration and motivation to complete WOTI last night and I wanted to start on TAOFT today, but I really don't know how to continue writing that won't make the next chapter boring.**

**This chapter is to give a little more realism to the pokemon world and also maybe an insight to Volkner's background. I myself am involved in volunteer work since about two years back and my experience there is what motivates me to write this chapter in the way I did. You can say that some of my own thoughts and opinions on giving back to society are written in it through Volkner's pov. Volkner isn't me, per say, since this isn't an SI story. Volkner and my personality are very different although I have to use some of my own personal experience to write out how he thinks and behaves or I wouldn't be able to describe him properly. The same goes for my other ocs in my other stories.**

**As a Gym Leader, I like to think that Volkner has more responsibilities other than to protect the city and help aspiring trainers. This is one way that I had thought about and I think it is realistic enough to write. Not sure how you guys feel about it, but I personally like this chapter a lot.**

**In any case, I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**


	6. Chapter 6- Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars

"- and this is the end of the discussion. Moving on-"

Byron listened attentively to the discussion led by their Regional Champion, Cynthia, as she continues to go through the topics of discussion for the meeting today. It is not everyday that he gets to see his fellow colleagues all gathered in the same room for a meeting. Whenever such a meeting is held, it would usually mean that something big is going on.

In this case, no news is good news.

The members of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars are mostly new to the job with most of the members being appointed within the last five years or so. Old timers like him have mostly retired. He is one of the few that is left together Crasher Wake and Bertha. The rest of the Gym Leaders are mostly newly appointed. For the Elite Four, Flint and Aaron are new. Lucian is in his thirties, so he is stuck somewhere in between the old and the young.

The new generation will always surpass the old, so he guess it is not a bad thing. These young colleagues of his all have potential.

Like his son.

Thinking about it always made his chest swell with pride. His little boy has really grown. Who would have expected that the shy and meek boy that used to scream at the sight of a budew will eventually become one of the strongest trainers in Sinnoh?

He could still afford to be more confident though, although Byron personally thinks that it is a lost cause by now.

"- there are also erratic behaviours from the wild pokemon population near Route 205 reported by our Rangers. So far, it shouldn't be a big concern for us yet since the Rangers had said that they have it under control. However, I still think that we should keep a close eye on it. Gardenia, do you mind?"

"Sure. I will take note of it. Trainers have to go through Route 205 to get to my city and I won't have them getting themselves killed from hordes of wild pokemon. Don't worry, I will look into it."

"Thank you. Onto a more serious matter, the crime rate seems to be rising across all cities from what I found out from the Sinnoh Police Force. Criminals are getting bolder in their activities. There is also an increase in pokemon poaching and the black market seems to be more active. We need to put a stop to this."

"Have we found a reason behind the increase?" Wake raised a question from he sat beside Byron. "There should be a reason why crime rates suddenly increase across the entire Sinnoh."

"We suspect that there is some big organisation backing them up." Maylene contributed into the discussion. She is one of the youngest Gym Leaders currently alongside Candice, but they are by no means weak or inexperienced. "We just don't know how true it is."

"An organisation backing them up?" Bertha's voice rose a few notes higher. "Just how big and influential is this organisation that they can increase Sinnoh's overall crime rate in just a year?"

"I tried tracking it down personally, but every lead brought me to a dead end." Maylene sighed. "Whoever is behind this seems to know how we operate or is smart enough to figure it out."

"Pokemon poaching, huh…" Aaron looked deep in thought but there is an unmistakable furious look in his eyes that is barely concealed. "_Unforgivable_. Leave this to me, I will hunt them down myself."

"Thank you for volunteering." Cynthia thanked Aaron in her usual polite yet no-nonsense tone. "Although you should watch out for certain pokemon hunters that are becoming a recurring problem in our region with how often they poach pokemon illegally and the size of their heists. You will need to link up with the SPF for more details."

"Got it, thanks."

"If you don't mind me intruding." Lucian spoke up as he turned to face Cynthia and Aaron. "I would like to help in this matter too. My psychics should be of great help here."

Aaron sent a small smile his way.

"Thanks, Lucian."

"Don't mention it."

"Uh… Since we are on the topic of wild pokemon activity, I would like to add that there is increased seismic and pokemon activity around Mt. Coronet. Fantina and I are keeping a close watch on it since our cities are the closest to the mountain range, but we also cannot find anything too unusual about it." Roark raised another issue from where he is sitting beside the younger Gym Leaders. "I don't think there should be any further problems, but we will have to take action if this phenomenon persists."

"Mt. Coronet? Will there be another massive landslide like what happened twenty years ago?"

"I don't think so." Roark answered Bertha's question after he took a few seconds to think about it. "But I would like to suggest putting more Rangers on duty there just in case. We also need to prepare for any unforeseen sudden seismic movements that might cause cave-ins or landslide. It will be disastrous if we are all caught unprepared and people found themselves trapped in the mountain."

Byron frowned a little at this new information his son just provided. Mt. Coronet is an impassable mountain range that separates Sinnoh into two halves. The only way through it for most people is a tunnel that links Oreburgh and Hearthome that is heavily monitored by the League. There are other tunnels within the mountain range that can bring you to other cities as well, but these routes are more dangerous and usually trainers are the only people that uses these routes. Civilians tend to stick to the frequently used tunnel to travel between East and West Sinnoh from Oreburgh to Hearthome. It is also extremely difficult to navigate through the mountain. The special magnetic field in the area disallow all forms of telecommunication and compasses are next to useless within the mountain. The only way to communicate is through the use of telepathy with help from psychic pokemon. There are other ways as well, but these methods are not efficient. It is extremely difficult to conduct a rescue operation if something happens within Mt. Coronet. Even Bertha and her ground type pokemon team are unable to work at full power given the unique terrain there. One wrong move is all it takes to create another massive landslide.

Anything untoward that happens to Mt. Coronet can possibly divide Sinnoh into two, quite literally. It is still possible to use Teleport to get to the other side in case of emergencies, but not all psychic pokemon are that well-trained.

"I think this is about all we have to discuss about the rising crime rates." Cynthia moved the discussion along without wasting anymore time. "Let's talk about potential candidates that we can recruit and headhunt to join the League's forces. Anyone spotted any shining star recently in the gym challenges?"

"You should ask Volkner. His gym is the last one in the circuit after all." Fantina shrugged out a reply.

Byron glanced at the yellow-haired Gym Leader, who surprisingly, hasn't fallen asleep yet. He is just lying back on his chair with his hands on his lap.

"Eh, you got yourself a question." Flint elbowed his friend from where he sat beside him. "Answer it."

Volkner remained motionless in his seat. He hasn't even blink once. Byron can tell that this uncharacteristic act from the strongest Gym Leader is starting to creep some of them out.

"Oi, Volkner." Flint waved a hand in front of Volkner's face but Volkner simply stared on straight ahead without blinking or any signs of acknowledging what is going on around him. "You ok?"

Flint's question got everyone in the room to start to look at the laziest person in the room in concern. Flint has a puzzled look in his face as he pokes his best friend on the shoulder.

"Shhh…" Candice put a finger to her lips in the universal gesture to keep quiet. "Listen, you hear that?"

Everyone in the room kept quiet immediately and they finally heard what Candice had picked out.

"_Zzz_…_Zzz_…"

"What the…" Flint said in disbelief as he took a closer look at his best friend. "He is _sleeping with his eyes open_?!"

"HAHAHA!" Wake laughed out in a booming laughter that seems to shake the entire room with it. "That's a new one! There's never a dull moment with Volkner around!"

"This is no laughing matter! We are in a meeting!" Cynthia barked out as she stomped over to Volkner and pushed him roughly on his shoulder. "Volkner! Wake up!"

The push had its intended effect as Volkner blinked his eyes a few times before giving a lazy stretch.

"Good morning, Cynthia." Volkner gave a yawn and is oblivious at how their Champion is shaking in rage at his uncaring behaviour. "Or is it noon already?"

"**YOU**!" Cynthia grabbed Volkner by his shirt and in an impressive show of strength, lifted him up from his chair. "You-!"

"Volkner managed to piss her off so badly this time that she is at a loss for words." Byron's ear managed to overhear what Candice is whispering to Maylene. Every interaction between Volkner and Cynthia always somehow leads to something like this due to how different both of their perspectives are when it comes to dealing with League related affairs. They are like oil and water; they will never mix. "Man, I never saw her so mad before."

That isn't what on Byron's mind though.

"Hey, is that…"

"Oh, this?" Volkner peeled off something from his eyelids from his awkward position in Cynthia's grasp without a care in the world. "It is eye stickers; they make you look as if your eyes are open and awake when you are in fact asleep. Stick it on your eyelids and close your eyes, no one can catch you sleeping unless they stare hard enough. Pretty useful. It is how I managed to fool my gym trainers that I am doing my work when I am actually asleep. Want some?"

"I have no idea how you became a Gym Leader with this kind of shitty attitude." Cynthia growled out as she pulled Volkner closer to her and glared at him in the eyes. "You are a _Gym Leader_, take some responsibility. If not…"

"You will sack me?" Volkner visibly brightened up and everyone else either audibly groaned, facepalmed, or sighed out loud. Volkner is _still_ trying to get himself sacked?

Personally, Byron thinks that the League forcing such a huge responsibility and burden onto someone with no desire to serve is a bad idea, but the results shown thus far proved that putting Volkner into their ranks is good for Sinnoh. If it wasn't for these results, Volkner would definitely be the first Gym Leader to get fired in Sinnoh's history.

However, Volkner is also undoubtedly the strongest Gym Leader even if he doesn't look or act like one. He is someone strong enough to be a member of their Elite Four. There is no way the League will let go of someone as valuable as him. Geniuses like Volkner only comes once in a few generations.

"_Please_ convince the League to sack me." Volkner clapped his hands together and begged Cynthia from his position as he remained being hoisted up by the seething Champion. "I will be _forever_ grateful to you if you can manage it."

"ARGH!" Cynthia violently dropped Volkner back onto his chair and pointed an angry finger towards the door. "Get out! **OUT**!"

"With pleasure! Bye!"

Volkner gave a cheerful wave as he bolted out of the meeting room, leaving the rest of the Thirteen Pillars to remain gaping once more in disbelief.

"Did he just…" Maylene broke the temporary silence as she spoke in a soft voice.

"He really took Cynthia's words for real?" Aaron had the same expression on his face as he looked at the door that Volkner just went through.

"We need to get him back! Who knows where he could be the moment he stepped out of HQ!" Flint stood up in a panic as he dragged Lucian along with him out of the room to chase after their missing Gym Leader. "Come on, Lucian! We need your help track Volk down!"

"Seriously though, how did he become a Gym Leader with that kind of attitude?" Candice questioned out loud as she leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. Cynthia is fuming uncontrollably and no one wants to approach the now-volatile Champion.

"Can't blame him." Byron surprised himself as he found himself speaking up for Volkner. "Who will be happy if they were forced to be someone that they don't want to be? But at least he is doing his job right. Sunyshore is still the city with the highest GDP growth in Sinnoh with the lowest crime rate. Which other city can boast that?"

"Don't defend him, Byron. You are only encouraging his undesirable behaviour." Cynthia said in a low growl. "If it wasn't for the League insisting that he should remain as a Gym Leader, I would have gotten rid of him the first chance I got."

"Now, now, let's all cool down, yeah?" Wake tried to play the peacemaker as he held out his hands in a placating manner. "Volkner has his flaws, but his strengths cannot be overlooked either."

The signature sound of a Teleport announced the reappearance of a struggling Volkner, who is now being restrained by the combined efforts of Flint and Lucian. Lucian's alakazam stood beside them, looking very interested at what is going on.

"Oi, oi, watch your hands. Don't mess with my hair!"

"It is already a mess to begin with." Flint argued back. "Now sit still here until the meeting is over. You cannot just _run_ out of the meeting like that, Volk."

"Hey, our Champion herself gave me permission!"

"I have **enough** of this attitude of yours." Cynthia hissed in a furious tone. "You and me, a battle, right now. I will beat this incorrigible attitude out of you."

"Hey, Cynthia, cool down!" Gardenia held Cynthia back from physically hurting their Electric Specialist further. "Come on, Volkner, apologise!"

"Hmm…" Volkner stroked his chin in thought with that lazy posture of his. "Actually, the kids were asking for a footage of a battle between me and Cynthia. A battle sounds good."

"VOLKNER!"

"You are so going to _regret_ this." Cynthia's voice took a foreshadowing tone as she continues to shake with anger. "I will beat the crap out of you."

"With two conditions." Volkner held out a finger that caused Cynthia to take a pause in her words. "Firstly, the prize money will be 50,000 pokedollars. If you win, that is. Not only that, I will give out 50,000 pokedollars _each_ to everyone here if you win."

"**_What_**?!" Candice stood up agitatedly. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"But if Cynthia didn't win, then _all of you_ will have to pay me 50,000 pokedollars each. This is the first condition I have. How about it? Are you guys up for it?"

Byron can't help but inwardly applause at the gall of Volkner to propose such a condition in this upcoming battle. They all earn a lot as members of the Thirteen Pillars, so while 50,000 pokedollars will put a dent in their bank account, they won't really feel the pinch in the long run.

"This is obviously a taunt." Fantina said dryly. "But I will gladly pay to see this match."

"_50,000_ pokedollars. If you somehow win, then you would have earned _600,000_ pokedollars in an instant from the twelve of us here." Roark said with dropping jaws at the thought of the number of zeros in that huge sum of money.

"Or lose 600,000 to all of us." Aaron added the perspective of the other possible outcome of this match.

"You know what? Deal. I haven't felt my blood pumping in so long." Wake said excitedly as he punched his fists together. "I don't know what you are planning, but it is sure to be exciting."

"The second condition is that this will be a one-on-one battle. No Mega Evolution, no items. Just a simple battle. How about it, Cynthia?"

Cynthia remained silent, but she turned around and walked out of the room towards the practice arena. It is a sure sign that she has accepted Volkner's proposition.

"All the best, Volk." Flint said as he put a comforting hand on Volkner's shoulder. "Don't lose too badly."

"Oh, don't worry. I am planning to walk out of here with an extra 600,000 in my pocket after this is over."

* * *

"Why am I the referee?"

"Just do it, Candice."

The newest member of the Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars to join their ranks, Candice, simply sighed in resignation and chop her hand down, signalling the start of the match. Cynthia released her garchomp immediately as the dragon roared a challenge at Volkner upon its appearance.

"Garchomp? You are too predictable, Cynthia. Let's go, Myst, bring that garchomp down."

Volkner's gallade appeared for battle and immediately got into a battle stance, unafraid of facing what is possibly the strongest trained pokemon in the whole of Sinnoh.

"You are not using your electric types?"

"Against a garchomp on this level? Are you crazy?" Volkner returned Roark's question with his answer. "Garchomp is a ground type, a pretty unfair advantage for me and my electric types."

"An Electric Specialist not using his electric types, how entertaining." Bertha gave an amused remark from where she is standing afar at the side and spectating the match. "Lucian, how strong do you think his gallade is?"

"From first impression, its power seems to rival my own gallade." Lucian answered respectfully. "But we will have to watch further to find out."

"Dragon Claw!"

Cynthia's garchomp charged in and slashed at Myst with its claws. Myst simply teleported himself out of harm's way and returned fire with a series of Ice Punches on garchomp's back. However, it doesn't seem to have any effect on the massive dragon.

"Earthquake!"

"Protect!"

Myst shielded himself from harm and reappeared above garchomp before slamming it into the ground with a Dazzling Gleam, getting in a critical hit. Garchomp only took a second to recover from the sneak attack before unleashing beams of Dragon Pulse at Myst, forcing him to be on the defensive.

"Fire Blast! Take it down!"

"Psycho Cut! Disperse the flames!"

Myst extended his elbows into blades before gathering a huge amount of psychic energy around it. A subsequent powerful swing of his arms cut the approaching Fire Blast into two halves. An enraged garchomp emerged through the flames and slammed into Myst with a Dragon Rush, forcing the gallade to retaliate with Brick Break to try and stop the assault.

"Volkner's gallade is good, but ultimately, Cynthia's garchomp is a lot stronger. It is just a matter of time before the gallade goes down." Lucian provided his assessment as he watched the battle intently alongside his colleagues. "Volkner still did a great job in training his gallade. Not many can get a gallade to fight on this level."

A Pain Split from Myst recovered some of his lost health but it only serves to make Cynthia's garchomp angrier. A swift Dual Chop was its answer to Myst as the force of the blow alone sent Myst flying backwards. Myst narrowly avoided a KO from the second blow of Dual Chop with his use of another Teleport.

"Shadow Claw!"

Garchomp's claw glowed with an outline of ghostly energy and a poweful swipe from it gouged out a huge trench on the ground. Myst took on the attack and returned the favour with a Counter, taking out a huge chunk of garchomp's health as well.

However, it is painfully obvious to everyone that Myst will not be able to outlast garchomp in a drawn-out fight. Cynthia's garchomp is just that powerful. Myst is strong, but he is definitely outclassed.

"Don't let it have a chance to rest! Outrage! Take it down!"

"Close Combat! Overpower it!"

"Cynthia's garchomp is just a lot tankier and hits way harder than Volkner's gallade." Maylene commented as Myst matched garchomp blow for blow with a series of strikes too fast for anyone to catch with their eyes, but is still getting himself pushed back. "Why didn't Volkner send out his other pokemon? Surely there are better candidates than his gallade in a one-on-one match against Cynthia's garchomp."

"That's what got me confused too." Flint said as he scratched his head in confusion. "I can understand if Volk doesn't send out his electric types to battle against Cynthia's garchomp, but his Tec or Puddle will be a much better choice to fight garchomp than Myst. Myst is just not a suitable choice to fight against a garchomp as strong as Cynthia's."

An overpowered swipe of its tail from garchomp flung Myst into the edge of the arena. Myst is barely standing as it is. The spectators had all caught on that Myst had used an Endure to save himself at the last minute, but it is not going to win the battle at his current state.

"Finish it!"

Garchomp's Outrage is still ongoing as the angry dragon continued on its warpath to destroy the psychic type, who merely stood up and braced itself.

"Do it."

Upon Volkner's command, a ghostly glow covered Myst's form just right before garchomp brought him down with a powerful slash of its claw. The same ghostly glow then covered garchomp as well.

"NO WAY!" Fantina had unconsciously took an agitated step forward upon seeing that ghostly glow. "_Destiny Bond_? That move is extremely hard to master even for ghost types! Even some of my ghosts are unable to pull it off at such a short notice! That gallade barely took a second to use it!"

True to Fantina's words, garchomp suddenly fell forward in a dull thud. It had been rendered unconscious from Myst's use of Destiny Bond.

"Candice, call the match." Volkner said nonchalantly as he recalled his pokemon.

"Uh… it's a draw! The battle between Volkner and Cynthia ends in a draw!"

"That was a dirty move." Cynthia begrudgingly accepted the outcome of their battle as she too recalled her pokemon. "But I have to admit I wasn't expecting that."

"Gee, thanks." Volkner brushed Cynthia's words aside before holding out a hand in a demanding gesture. "Now, pay up."

"You didn't win." Cynthia bit back fiercely. She is already suitably irritated by Volkner's behaviour at the meeting and the outcome of the match didn't help things either. Furthermore, Volkner didn't win the match as well. Why should she pay up?

"We agreed that if _you win_, I have to pay up. We also agreed that if _you didn't win_, all of you have to pay up. We had a draw, but you _didn't win_. So, going by our agreement, I retain the rights to receive my money."

.

.

.

"**WHAT**?!"

"Volkner, that's cheating!"

"You scoundrel!"

"You tricked us!"

The various members of the Thirteen Pillars, including Flint, all exploded at how Volkner managed to swindle 50,000 pokedollars each from all of them. Volkner just stood there with a huge grin on his face and doesn't even seem to care at how angry his colleagues are at him.

"I will be expecting my bank account to be 600,000 richer before the day's up! Thank you for your kind donation!"

"**VOLKNER**!"

* * *

Cynthia continue to go through documents at her work desk in her office. It is late at night, but her duty as Sinnoh's Champion entails that she has a responsibility to solve the various problems that their region face. She is their Champion. Her sense of duty and honour will not allow her to slack off on her job.

Unlike that incorrigible man named Volkner. Why is the League so insistent on keeping him around? Sure, he had made contributions to Sunyshore and to Sinnoh, but there's no way he can continue to be a member of their region's Thirteen Pillars with this kind of attitude!

Maybe she should just help to grant his wish to help him get sacked already. It will solve everyone's headache.

Despite how infuriating Volkner is, her battle with him today had shown that she was very careless. She had obviously underestimated Volkner and what he could do, and he had very bluntly displayed to her what her weakness is. She is always too quick to anger and he had used it to his advantage. He had made her so angry with his behaviour earlier in the day that in her fury, she had commanded garchomp to use Outrage when they don't need it to bring his gallade down. Garchomp cannot be stopped once that move is used, and it is what helped ensure Volkner and his gallade that gallade's Destiny Bond will find its target. There is no way for garchomp to defend itself against this move because Outrage was active at that time. This is one of the drawbacks using such a move like Outrage or Thrash. There is no way to stop or use another move until the attack has finished running its course.

It was her fault that her garchomp was brought down in that manner. She had made the wrong judgement by letting her emotions cloud her mind.

It is a humbling and bitter pill to swallow. If this is a true pokemon match between them with six pokemon on each side, the rest of Volkner's team will now be able to unleash their full strength once her garchomp is brought down. The presence of her garchomp was the main reason Volkner had declined a battle with her when they first met years ago, saying that he knows for sure that he will lose and he does not want to waste both their time on a match that they already know the outcome for.

But if their earlier match was an official match, Volkner's electric types will be near unstoppable once her garchomp is brought down. She has confidence that she can still defeat Volkner and his team, but it will be a lot harder without garchomp there to help her. The outcome of the match is now not as certain.

Cynthia is brought out of her thoughts when the phone on her work desk rang.

"Hello?"

"Oh! I wasn't expecting someone to pick up the call at this hour. My name is Mary and I am the matron of Sunyshore Orphanage, may I speak to Cynthia? Volkner had told me to call this number."

"This is Cynthia speaking." Cynthia tried her best to not let her irritation towards Volkner show as she continues to converse with Mary. Who gives him the permission to give away her number without asking? And why would the matron of an orphanage call her?

"You are really our Champion! Arceus!" Cynthia allowed a few seconds for the shock to settle down for Mary. Scenarios like this are common whenever their citizens found themselves talking to her without knowing it. "Thank you so much! Your donation helped us a lot!"

What?

"Donation?" Cynthia asked puzzledly and she can feel the distance between her eyebrows narrowing. Since when had she donated?

"The donations you and the other Thirteen Pillars made had helped us a lot! The kids now have new clothes to wear and they can afford better learning materials to pursue their dreams. Thank you so much! I will send you a detailed account at the end of every month on how we manage the donations made to the orphanage. It is something we do to reassure our donors that their money is being spent on the right things. Thank you so much once again!"

Cynthia can only accept the repeated thanks. Even when the call had ended, she is still in a daze. She had made a donation? The other Thirteen Pillars also made donations to the same orphanage? Since when?

Sensing that something is not quite right, Cynthia opened up her email with her computer and what she saw got her eyebrows rising higher and higher.

Various charity organisations had all sent their thanks to her sometime earlier during the day. Judging from the timestamp, all of it were sent starting from an hour after the end of the meeting with her colleagues today. The list of charities ranges from those that helps in protecting the environment, to helping children with disabilities, to helping lonely elderlies with no one left to support them, to supporting the cause to care for abandoned pokemon and to help them find a new home, and so on. Cynthia didn't even know some of these charities existed until she read the emails.

Did Volkner just used the 600,000 he won from their battle for charitable causes and registered the entire group of Thirteen Pillars as the donors?

Cynthia huffed out a sigh which is a mixture of frustration, amusement, and resignation. She knows Volkner has been focusing his efforts on charitable causes ever since he became a Gym Leader even if he never told anyone else about it other than Flint. If Volkner needs extra financial help to help those in need, all he needs to do is to just ask. There's no need to go about in this roundabout way to gather funding to help those in need by goading her into a battle.

Or maybe Volkner just enjoys pissing her off for the fun of it. She has a feeling this is the main reason behind his actions today and she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. They had never seen eye-to-eye for anything when it comes to work. Their working style and their philosophy in life is just too different for them to stand being near each other.

Cynthia picked up the phone once again and dialled the office number of her secretary. Like her, her secretary is also a workaholic. She should still be in her office.

"Hello. Cynthia, is this you?"

"It's me." Cynthia confirmed. "Can I trouble you to find a complete list of charities in our region? There's something I would like to try and improve on."

It seems like this will be another long night for her, but at least the time spent will be used to help in bettering Sinnoh.

It is her duty as the Champion after all.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**

**Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Garchomp**

**2) ****Roserade**

**3) ****Spiritomb**

**4) ****Lucario**

**5) ****Milotic**

**6) ****Gastrodon**

**7) ****Togekiss**

**8) ****Glaceon**

**9) ****Braviary**

**10) ****Eelektross**


	7. Chapter 7- She and Him

She first met him when she was fifteen.

It was supposed to be another ordinary day. Go up to the Glitter Lighthouse, retrieve Amphy from there, feed Amphy and let her rest, go to her usual haunt to train. The usual.

An ordinary day for an ordinary girl like her. She is but an ordinary girl who has an unordinary dream.

She wants to be the strongest Steel Specialist the world has ever seen.

The impossibility of her dream makes her wants to cringe at herself when she was at that age. She is just an ordinary girl. She is an ordinary girl with an ordinary and easily forgettable name. She comes from an ordinary background with ordinary parents. She looks extremely ordinary, to the extent that if she were to get herself lost in a crowd no one could possibly pick her out from the sea of people there. She is a wallflower, an extremely shy and timid person who will fluster and stutter whenever the spotlight is on her.

She is plain. She is so simple and plain that most people forgot about her existence if they only met her once or twice before.

People laughed at her when she admitted that she wants to be the strongest Steel Specialist, because _how on earth will she manage it_? She can tell that even her parents had their doubts even if they tried their best to be supportive. They know her best. They know how shy she is.

How can someone like her, someone so ordinary and plain ever become the strongest Steel Specialist?

She did decently well in her Indigo Plateau Conference. After her conference, she joined the Johto Police Force for half a year before quitting. Her meek personality does not mesh well with what was required of her in such a job.

It wasn't long before she found a job as the lighthouse keeper of the Glitter Lighthouse in Olivine City.

The pay from her new job is a little on the low side, but it allows her to have plenty of free time to train both herself and her team. Amphy isn't much of a battler anyway, and he seems to enjoy helping passing ships find their way safely into their city's harbour.

She now has time to pursue her dreams.

It wasn't easy and it still isn't. There are very few steel type experts and even lesser of those managed to make a name for themselves in this vast world. At that time, the only renowned expert that most people will know is Byron from Sinnoh, Gym Leader of Canalave City. Over time, Steven from Hoenn and she joined the ranks as well, but that was years later.

At that time, she had no one to go to for guidance. She wants to grow stronger and she knows she and her team can all be stronger. She knows that they all have the potential.

But what can they do to achieve their dream?

Not many will want to specialise in steel types simply because most of them lacks offensive power. Having overwhelmingly strong defences is good, but to most of the trainers our there, not having enough offensive power to finish the fight is a fatal flaw to have.

That line of thinking isn't wrong, but she still can't help but love steel types for what they are. They are what she wants to be. Strong, hardy, determined, confident, sturdy, unbreakable…

There are just so many good points about steel types that she knows the moment she became a trainer that a Steel Specialist is what she wants to become.

Funnily enough, her starter isn't a Steel Type. When she finally told her parents of her decision to become a trainer when she was ten, her parents got a mareep for her from a nearby farm. They probably didn't think that their one and only child was serious in her proclamation to be a trainer. They probably expected her to give up halfway into her training career and return home.

She will admit that she was a little down when she first saw Amphy, but she still loves him for who and what he is. She doesn't know what she will do if she lost Amphy.

Her dream to be a Steel Specialist didn't change nor did she once waver when she walked on the path that she had set for herself. Even when the going gets tough, she pulled through. She is a Steel Specialist; it will take more than a few setbacks to get her to back down. She may not look like the part, but she is a strong trainer even at the young age of fifteen years old. She won her battles simply by lasting longer than each and every of her opponents. In the days she worked as the lighthouse keeper of the Glitter Lighthouse, she challenged every trainer that passed Olivine City. She can feel her confidence building as the days went by with the growing number of victories she snagged under her belt.

Her confidence was nearly shattered when she first met him.

Like her, he is plain and ordinary. At least, that is the impression he gave off if you only give him a passing glance. If it wasn't for his bright yellow hair and the monster of an electivire walking by his side, she would not have noticed him at all.

Electivires are rare. Being able to command one speaks volumes about a trainer's ability.

The elekid line have certain similarities to the magby, duskull, and the rhyhorn line. Most of them stopped evolving after they reached the second stage. Even when they are raised in human captivity and trained by trainers, it isn't a guarantee that they will evolve into their final form.

They need to amass a lot of power under the right conditions for that to happen.

For the elekid line, they need to first accumulate power at the electabuzz stage. Once that is done, there are a few known ways to help them evolve into an electivire. The most common, safest, and yet expensive way is to purchase an electirizer, an item packed with a tremendous amount of electric energy for the sole purpose of helping an electabuzz evolve as long as they have the power to trigger the evolution process.

The second method, which is often disregarded for the first, is to seek out a place with large amount of electricity on the level of an S Class Disaster Level Thunderstorm. Most trainers who tried to attempt that with their electabuzz never made it back alive.

The amount of energy needed to trigger the evolution process is the main reason why there are so few electivires even among accomplished trainers. Items like the electirizer are hard to make and they are ridiculously expensive. You need to be a very strong trainer to be able to have the financial ability to afford even one of such items, or crazily strong and insane to seek out a thunderstorm to evolve your electabuzz and then somehow return alive.

A similar logic applies to the magby, duskull, and rhyhorn line. It is rare to spot their species walking about in their final form due to how hard it is to get to that stage.

And just right there is an electivire and his trainer getting off a ship that had just docked in her city. At that moment, she knew that she cannot pass up the chance to challenge this trainer to a battle. If she can defeat a trainer capable of raising an electivire, then it will show just how strong she had gotten.

And so, going against her very nature as a wallflower and using every ounce of her willpower to push down every bit of her meek nature, she wore a mask of confidence and approached the yellow-haired trainer.

"Um… Can I challenge you to a battle?"

* * *

She lost.

Losing isn't a foreign concept to her. She lost more than she won when she first started out on her journey as a pokemon trainer, but…

She never lost _so thoroughly_ before.

Amphy lost. Magny lost. Skia lost. Forest lost. Even Mety and Steely both lost.

She didn't even come close to beating him. She didn't even beat a single pokemon on his team.

She nearly broke down and cried right there and then. How can she ever be a true Steel Specialist if the gap between her and him is so big?!

In the face of his offensive powers, her defence was torn like paper. She and her team were utterly helpless as his electivire broke through half her team in a six-on-six battle before he was forced to switch it out with his gyarados.

He is obviously an Electric Specialist and gyarados isn't even an electric type. Yet, that sea serpent brought the rest of her team down without much effort. Even Mety and Steely didn't stand a chance.

She can feel herself close to tears the moment she recalled Steely back to her pokeball. She didn't want to display such an ugly and embarrassing side to a complete stranger, so she hastily congratulated him on his win, hand over the agreed prize money, and then quickly walked off, ignoring his concerned looks and question she knew he was about to ask.

"Are you alright?"

She pretended not to hear him as she turned around the corner.

She pretended everything was alright when she cried herself to sleep that same night.

* * *

It was two days later when they bumped into each other again.

That same electivire is still by his side and it was the one that first noticed her. The electivire tugged on his trainer's sleeve and it was how he spotted her.

She had wanted to turn around and walk away the moment she spotted the pair of walking bright yellow but that is impossible seeing how he is now walking towards her.

"Uh, hi. Not sure if you still remember me, but we battled two days ago."

She managed to squeeze out a small smile on her face. How could she forget about him? The only trainer who crushed her with ease as if she is a novice trainer just starting out on her journey. Even her final opponent in her conference barely scrapped through his win.

But he had greeted her politely, and it will not do well to brush him aside. Her parents dote on her, but they are very strict when it comes to manners. It is something that is ingrained in her since the moment she can speak as a toddler.

"Good morning… Um…"

"Volkner. Call me Volkner. This is Franky."

The electivire gave a jolly wave at her. She decided there and then that the mood of the cheerful electivire is definitely infectious. Most of her foul mood had vanished upon seeing that wave.

"… Jasmine. My name is Jasmine, it is nice to meet you."

She can see his eyes widening a little upon hearing her name before returning to its original size.

"Uh… I don't know how to say this without sounding offensive, but are you alright? You don't seem so well after our battle. I tried to find you, but you somehow just disappeared."

She blinked her eyes owlishly. Why would a complete stranger like him care about her? Most of the people that had met her forgot about her after a day or two. Some of them did so right after their meeting.

Her silence seems to get him a little flustered with how she is staring at him without a single word out of her mouth, so she quickly tried to continue to conversation.

"I am fine!" She squeaked out a reply. "I was… feeling a little unwell on that day."

She gave herself a mental smack on her forehead for that lame reply. Of all things she can think up of, _this_ is the reply she gives him?

"Now that you say it, your face is a little flushed." He spoke in a somewhat concerned tone and dug through the pockets of his backpack. "Now where did I keep it… ah ha!"

He took out a small bottle and passed it to her. Even till now, she didn't know why she had accepted his gift. They were strangers, there was no reason to accept anything from him. The bottle could be something harmful.

But somehow, she just knew that he genuinely thought that she was really feeling unwell.

"This is a remedy that most of the townsfolk back at Sunyshore use whenever they are feeling unwell from all the heat." He continues to talk with a small smile on his face. "Like Sunyshore, Olivine receives a lot of sunlight too, so it isn't uncommon to see people falling sick from the heat after being in the sun for too long."

Oh, he thought that she is suffering from heat exhaustion?

"Um… I-!"

She wanted to return the bottle back to him. She was lying. She wasn't feeling unwell, she was just very bitter at how easy she had lost in their battle two days ago.

"Just take it. Pop a pill after every meal and you should see some results by tomorrow. On a side note, how did you train your magnezone to be so good at defence? Taking it down was really hard."

What?

"Uh…" Her inability to continue any form of conversation is definitely making him feel very awkward. She cannot help but scold herself for being so meek and shy. _Just speak_!

"Y-You just have to make sure you take care of its hide properly. Steel types mainly rely on their metal armour to help tank hits. Most steel types increase the hardness of their body by consuming suitable minerals with high iron content but the magnezone species don't have a mouth to feed and they have no need for food, relying on consuming electricity to keep up their bodily functions instead. So, the only way to help them is to…"

She felt her confidence returning the more she spoke. Here is someone who had come to _her_ for advice. The ordinary, plain, forgettable wallflower that would shy away from any human contact that isn't her parents due to her meek personality.

Out of the hundreds of Elite trainers in Olivine, he had asked her for advice. He had acknowledged her strength as a trainer and a Steel Specialist.

It was only when the loud squawk of a wild pidgey flying overhead did she realise that she had ranted on and on about steel types and how to best raise them for close to twenty minutes. He had very patiently listened on as she spoke with flailing hand gestures as they stood in the blazing hot sun. Her hand gestures are a tic of hers whenever she got too excited in explaining to others the wonders of steel types.

She can feel her face flushing for real this time in embarrassment. Arceus! That was embarrassing!

"Hey, you are _really knowledgeable_, you know that? I mean, I know you have to be really good at what you do considering how strong your team is, but I wasn't expecting for you to know so much about steel types. I am really impressed."

She can only gawk when she heard him giving her a sincere praise. She cannot remember the last time someone had did that.

"Well, if you don't mind and if you are not in a rush, maybe we can find somewhere nice to sit and chat?" She looked back up at him upon his words, who is now scratching his cheek nervously. For some reason, she has a feeling that he doesn't have a lot of experience dealing with the opposite sex. Not like she is qualified to judge on this matter.

"Not in that manner! I mean-!" She suppressed the urge to giggle at the flustered man in front of her as he mistakenly took her silence as her apprehensiveness to follow an unknown man. Maybe he thought that she mistook his actions as trying to flirt with her.

"I mean, uh, we can exchange pointers? I also have a magnezone and I do have a probopass. I need to know how to take care of them properly since they are steel types and Steel Specialists are rare. I haven't seen one as good as you other than Byron. If you need pointers on how to raise an electric type like your ampharos, I can help too. I am an Electric Specialist."

She schooled her face back into a neutral expression although she can feel a small smile forming on her face. It has been a long time since she had been in an engaging discussion with anyone about pokemon. Her parents aren't trainers and she didn't have many friends to begin with. She is the only trainer among her friend that got as far as she did. Most of her friends quit being a trainer somewhere during their gym circuit.

"I would like that, Volkner."

* * *

It was about a week after their first real introduction to each other did they start to share with each other more about what they experienced.

He told her about Sinnoh and Sunyshore. He told her about his experience in completing his gym circuit. He told her about his best friend Flint and how they tied for first place in their conference. He told her about the orphanage that he calls his home and how he wants to be able to help the kids there one day when he is older. He told her about the various regions that he had been to and what he had saw over there. He showed her the exotic electric types that he had acquired into his team and displayed to her their unique capabilities.

She told him about Johto and Olivine. Like him, she told him about her own gym circuit and her love for steel types. She told him about her parents and although her performance in her conference isn't as impressive as his, it is still pretty good for someone competing in it for the first time. She showed him her team as well and how she is planning to expand her team with steel types from other regions. She didn't travel as much as he did, but there are many other ways to acquire exotic pokemon not native to their region. She told him how she wants to be the strongest Steel Specialist one day.

Their meetups got more and more frequent when he decided to stay in Olivine to see what the city has to offer. They trained with and against each other. She still lost every battle she had with him, but she can feel herself improving. He is a genius when it comes to training pokemon even when they are not categorised as electric types, the typing that he specialises in. He taught her his specialty. He taught her how to train pokemon capable of learning Magnet Rise to not just levitate with that move, but fly with it.

She isn't a genius like him, but she made up for it with hard work and determination. She taught him how to raise steel types properly. She taught him how to teach his pokemon to defend properly. She taught him the strengths and weaknesses of steel types. She taught him what is the best way to teach steel type moves to his pokemon and to further hone their proficiency in it.

She found herself wanting to see him more with each passing day.

She knows that he is currently on a journey to tour the other regions to see what they can offer. He wants to see how strong the other trainers in each region are and to add more electric types into his team. He believes that the best way to get stronger at his current stage is to go out and see the world.

His line of thinking got her wanting to journey out of Johto as well. She needs to have more experience and exposure. Her time with him had showed her that she is still lacking in many areas. She needs to see for herself how big the world out there is.

Alas, all good times must come to an end. He had stayed in Olivine for almost a month and it was time for him to carry on with his journey. They exchanged contact numbers, and she personally sent him off as he journeyed to the next town of his choosing, Ecruteak City.

Maybe she should follow his example as well. If she really wants to grow stronger and not stagnate, then she will need to start her travels once more.

* * *

Her parents weren't happy at what she told them.

She knows that her parents are protective of her and they will fuss and worry about her no matter what she does. However, she is no longer a child. She is fifteen years old and she has a say in what she wants to do with her life. She knows that they don't want their little girl to travel far out and away from their protection, but how else can she grow if she is always being protected?

In the end, they accepted her words, but it took them more than half a year before she managed to convince them.

She soon become close friends with him. In fact, he is now her best friend, although that can be largely attributed to the fact that she doesn't have many friends to begin with. She had hardly talk to most of them ever since she joined the police force after her conference. None of them have the same passion as her when it comes to pokemon and she doesn't have the same interest as them. The lack of a common topic to talk about soon became the reason why they gradually drifted apart from one another.

She is kind of lonely.

But now, she has a new best friend.

He is one person who shares the same passion as her with equal intensity. Despite how lazy he carries himself, there is no hiding the amount of dedication he had put into raising his pokemon.

And so, she called him. Travelling is a lot more fun if you have someone to travel with.

That was how their journey to Kanto started.

* * *

She was sixteen going to seventeen when their journey in Kanto ended.

Their journey in Kanto took a way longer time than expected, because the two of them decided to really explore every nook and cranny as long as they are able to. They met many people there and a large number of them are Elite trainers who have the strength to back their title up.

Both their team expanded and grew. Well, hers mostly. Volkner acquired Glowy, Jarvis, and Fluffy during his time with her. He had won Jarvis at a Game Corner in Celedon. She still doesn't approve of that place since it encourages people to indulge in one of the most horrid vices known to man, but as a trainer, she knows how tempting a prize the porygon species is.

She gave Fluffy to him as a mareep sometime during their journey. She had picked Fluffy out when they passed by a breeding farm in Cerulean and gave it to him, saying that he needs an electric type from Johto to prove that he has been there. He accepted her present which she had named 'Fluffy'.

They encountered Glowy when the two of them decided to go fishing at their stay at Seafoam Islands. Glowy had tugged on her rod and with his help, the both of them fished the struggling chinchou out of the waters, who had somehow swum its way to Kanto. She has no need for an electric type or a water type, so she let Volkner have the honours of catching it. The only thing that she did was to help name the chinchou. They eventually decided on the name 'Glowy'.

Her team grew as well.

Steel types are rare and there are only so many known species in the world. The Johto and Kanto regions do not have many steel types so the only way to acquire them is to either travel to other regions to catch the steel types there, or to get your hands on one through buying or trading with another party. The second method can be very expensive.

If it wasn't for his help, she would not have been able to get half of her current team. Each of them is rare and powerful, and she could not have possibly got them on her own. She still doesn't know how he managed to find so many steel types for her.

He even got a Regional Starter for her. A piplup, that's what he got for her, saying that he is returning the favour when she gave Fluffy to him. The piplup line will eventually evolve into an empoleon, a species that has the unique combination of Steel and Water typing. It is the only known species with such typing combination as of now.

She felt her heart flutter when she first received Emy from him. She promised him that she will take good care of the piplup, just as how he had raised Fluffy splendidly.

Not just anyone can get their hands on a Regional Starter. She doesn't know what strings he pulled or what promises he gave to whoever he got Emy from, but if he didn't say anything, then she won't pry.

They experienced many things together in Kanto. From climbing the rocky tunnels of Mt. Moon to visiting the infamous Power Plant rumoured to house the legendary zapdos. They had ventured deep into the icy caverns of the Seafoam Islands and felt the heat from the volcano at Cinnabar. They had seen first-hand the harsh wilderness of Fuchsia and enjoyed themselves in the bustling city of Saffron.

They had made many memories together. There were setbacks on their journey, but that was to be expected. She still wouldn't give this experience she had with him for anything in the world.

She was sixteen going on seventeen when she realised that she had fallen in love with him.

* * *

She was seventeen when she decided to try her luck to be Olivine's next Gym Leader.

At seventeen, she was a lot stronger as compared to the time when she first met him. She was starting to make a name for herself for being unbeatable against any trainers that had challenged her. People were starting to refer her as 'The Iron Wall of Olivine'.

She didn't know if applying to be a Gym Leader was the correct choice, so she asked him.

He told her to go for it if she truly wants to be a Gym Leader and is prepared to take on the responsibilities that comes with it. He told her that he is sure that she will succeed.

His words gave her the needed courage, so she applied for the position.

Like he said, she succeeded.

Her parents were overjoyed and proud of her achievement and she revel in the joy as well. At the same time, she was a little scared. She was just an ordinary girl before she got chosen to be their city's Gym Leader. Is she up for it?

She called him once more, only to get the most shocking and hilarious news of her lifetime.

He was somehow forced to be Sunyshore's Gym Leader at about the same time she became Olivine's. All because his best friend didn't want him to waste his time away guarding their city's lighthouse.

She can understand where Flint is coming from, although a small part of her was annoyed at how he shoved such a huge responsibility and burden on her best friend. Then again, her best friend is just too hard to ignore with how bright he shines.

She was seventeen when she became Olivine's Gym Leader, and he was nineteen that same year.

* * *

She was twenty when she first visited Sunyshore.

The first three years of her life in her new job made her a very busy person. There are just so many things to take care of and she barely had any time for herself. On the rare occasions that she has her rest, she was so tired that she will just coop herself up at home and spend time with her parents.

It has been three years since she last saw him.

They still kept in constant contact via calls but seeing each other through a screen or hearing each other's voice through a speaker still isn't quite the same thing as seeing each other personally. She found herself missing him more and more with each passing day.

She is undeniably in love with him, but what about him? Does he feel the same way?

She doesn't know, and she don't want to risk finding out just in case her worst fears came through. She is fine with their current relationship: the hazy, unexplainable feeling that they both experienced whenever they talk to each other. She enjoys the comfortable presence of the other whenever they spend time in silence to appreciate the sights in front of them.

Being a Gym Leader had made her more confident and surer of herself. Being a Gym Leader had gotten him to be more charismatic and inspiring. She knows that there is a sudden surge from the newest batch of novice trainers in Sinnoh who wants to be an Electric Specialist, because they saw how strong he is. He showed Sinnoh what an Electric Specialist can really do.

Sunyshore is really as beautiful as he had said.

It doesn't look as peaceful as Olivine. It doesn't have quite the same quaint feel as her hometown, but there is a different sort of beauty in Sunyshore where it is situated between the mountains and the sea. There is a rugged, untamed feel to it that cannot be found in Olivine.

She found herself loving this place as well. It has the same sunlight beaming down onto the city just like Olivine.

She found herself amazed at what he had done for the city in just three years. Hearing about it was one thing, seeing it was another.

He is really a genius.

He brought her around the city and let her stay in his home, an offer which she quickly accepted. How could she refuse an offer from him?

He showed her the Vista Lighthouse, he brought her to the Marketplace and confide in her his favourite spot to nap at the edge of the city. He introduced Flint to her, his brother in all but blood and his equal in strength.

He introduced her to the kids at the orphanage where he used to grow up in, and she grew attracted to the man who possess such a big heart.

She was twenty when she fell harder in love with him.

* * *

She was twenty-one when her parents found out about her friendship with him.

Naturally, they weren't happy at how she had kept his existence from them for so long.

On hindsight, her frequent travels to the Sinnoh region to visit him and how she would have a silly smile on her face every single time she talked with him through the phone or receive a message from him might have been a dead giveaway too. She can be as easy to read as an open book at times.

She knew her overprotective parents would disapprove of her travelling with an unknown man to another region, much less a journey that took a period of time for close to two years, so she never made a move to tell them about him. She was afraid that her parents will forcefully tear them apart when they found out about it.

She had her first big argument with her parents.

Her response had very obviously taken their parents aback. Who would have imagined their meek and shy baby girl to be able to bring herself to have a heated argument with anyone else?

She didn't expect it either. It just happened.

They had a long talk after that. She admitted that it is a one-sided crush on her part, which did not really help her case, but she got them to understand her.

She knows it is an irrational fear, but she doesn't want to risk losing another friend.

The upside of the argument is that she is closer to her parents now, and they finally realised that their baby girl is no longer the same shy and meek wallflower.

She had grown up.

She was twenty-one when she realised how much of a positive influence he was on her.

* * *

She is twenty-two now.

She is about to depart for Sunyshore soon. She will be able to see him again.

Olivine doesn't need as much attention from her anymore since she had put much efforts to ensure that the city can run by itself without her constant supervision, similar to what he is trying to do for Sunyshore. He is having a harder time doing so, since Sunyshore's current development into what it is was fairly recent. The city is still trying to adjust to the rapid change it experienced. Five years ago, Sunyshore was just a city made of numerous landmasses that you could only travel from one of them to another by sea or air.

He had said that once he had gotten Sunyshore to be able to function without needing him there all the time, he will have more time on his hands. They will be able to meet up more often. He had gone to visit her in Johto a few times in the last five years, but every visit was brief since he cannot leave Sunyshore for long.

Such is the life and responsibility of being a Gym Leader.

Sometime after her argument with them, her parents had met him, and their impression of him took a hundred and eighty degree turn for the better after the first meeting. Something about him always made people willing to trust him. His presence is both reassuring and bright.

He still doesn't know her feelings for him though. She has a heavy suspicion he has feelings for her too, but he hasn't acted on it yet. Maybe it is because he is always so busy, maybe it is because like her, he isn't sure whether she will reciprocate his feelings.

She does know it would not be wise to continue to put off this matter. They are no longer young. Many of her friends are starting to get married and starting their own families. What is left of her small group of friends anyway.

But how will she broach the topic with him? What if…

She sighed.

She is twenty-two now, and just the thought of him still makes her feel as if she is fifteen all over again.

But she will never regret challenging him to that fateful battle when she was fifteen. It was what allowed them to get to know each other. Back then, he was just Volkner, Electric Specialist of Sinnoh. She was just Jasmine, Steel Specialist of Johto. They were just ordinary people living ordinary lives.

He is now Volkner Tide, the 42nd Gym Leader of Sunyshore. He is The Sun of Sunyshore.

She is now Jasmine Terbium, the 48th Gym Leader of Olivine. She is The Iron Wall of Olivine.

Even with her current status as a Gym Leader, he never fails to make her look at him in awe like she is fifteen again. He never fails to make her heart flutter and her words stutter as if she is sixteen going onto seventeen again. He never fails to restore her confidence whenever she is unsure as if she is seventeen again. He never fails to make her fall for him even harder than it already is when she thought it to be impossible as if she is twenty again.

She is twenty-two now, yet these feelings she has for him never once changed. If anything, they have only grown stronger, just like how they did throughout the years.

She is twenty-two now, and he never fails to make her fall in love with him all over again.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**

**Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Garchomp**

**2) ****Roserade**

**3) ****Spiritomb**

**4) ****Lucario**

**5) ****Milotic**

**6) ****Gastrodon**

**7) ****Togekiss**

**8) ****Glaceon**

**9) ****Braviary**

**10) ****Eelektross**


	8. Chapter 8- Sunyshore's Crisis

"See this? This is where I could have done better. Myst is also adept at ranged moves, so I should have just commanded him to disperse the flames with another move like Psychic or Focus Blast instead of a physical one like Psycho Cut. It was obvious that the Fire Blast from Cynthia's garchomp was just a smokescreen. If Myst and I had thought of it, Myst would not have gotten himself hit by that Dragon Rush. That Dragon Rush was where the battle started to go downhill for us."

"Really? I couldn't tell." Jimmy asked quizzically as they crowded around Volkner. Volkner is showing them the video footage of his battle with Cynthia and they are all extremely excited. Volkner had indulged them and let them watch the footage as many times as they want, and he ended up explaining to them what was happening and how he could have done better in that battle. His gym trainers had all joined in as well and before they know it, everyone in the orphanage is now sitting in a room where the video is being played on a large screen for all to see.

"Garchomp is obviously a lot better at fighting up close than from afar, even if it is no slouch in that area. Myst would have a better chance at winning if we stick to ranged moves with a hit-and-run tactic using Teleport. We didn't really have a chance to do that since garchomp was constantly chasing after him, but it is something that could have been avoided if we had played it a little smarter. There is a chance that Myst might win if we simply keep our distance from her garchomp." Volkner continues to explain as he rewinds the video to that part of the battle and slowed the video down. The battle between his gallade and Cynthia's garchomp was so fast paced that most of them have troubles keeping up with their eyes.

"Why would you order Myst to use Close Combat against her garchomp's Outrage though?" Kayla asked when the video reached that particular scene. "That could have been a chance for you and Myst to finally pull the distance."

"No point, Myst was too weak and injured by then. See how he is barely keeping up at this stage?" Volkner pointed to his gallade on the screen where the battle is being played in slow motion. "There's no way he is going to outlast garchomp by that point, so the best way to continue fighting will be to try and inflict as much damage as possible on the garchomp before bringing it down with Destiny Bond. I need to give off the impression that we are desperate, so Cynthia would not suspect a thing. If you noticed, Drain Punch was mixed into that Close Combat, so it actually allows Myst to last longer. The only way we could beat her garchomp at that moment is to be sneaky about it."

"That makes some sense." Marco adopted a thinking pose with a thoughtful frown on his face. "Many trainers tend to order their pokemon to use their biggest moves to go out with a bang if they know it is a matter of time before they lost that match. By using a reckless move like Close Combat, it can possibly fool the opposing trainer into thinking that you got desperate. I just didn't know even our Champion was fooled by this method."

"She just wasn't thinking straight at that time since she was very angry at me." Volkner chirped in a happy tone, a stark contrast with the content of the words he just spoke. "I merely took advantage of the situation."

"What did you do?" Vicky asked the burning question in everyone's mind. Even the kids at the orphanage are curious.

"Come on, Vicky. It's not that hard to guess."

The gym trainers all gave a variety of reactions that showed their exasperation and resignation. Volkner must have slept through the latest meeting again.

"Why would you send out Myst though?" Anne asked as she tugged on Volkner's shirt. Even the reserved girl is now excited and eager to learn more after watching that blood pumping battle.

"If you guys ever engage in a battle that is not one-on-one, what you should focus on isn't the outcome of each match, but the overall battle as a whole." Volkner explained patiently to the little kids. "The whole world knows that Cynthia's garchomp is her strongest pokemon. If none of your pokemon is strong enough to bring it down, then why use your strongest pokemon to face it? There are many ways to win a match other than destroying your opposition with brute strength. In this case, Destiny Bond is one way to do it. Once her garchomp is down, the rest of my team can now come out to play. My battle as a whole will now be a lot easier."

Anne gave an 'oh-I-see' expression and returned to hugging Squeaky, causing the furry electric type to purr in contentment.

"Big Bro Volkner, why-"

**RIIINNNGG!**

"Ah, sorry about that, Jimmy. Gimme a moment."

Volkner picked up his phone and answered the call in his usual lazy manner.

"…Yes, speaking… What?"

Volkner's concerned tone immediately got everyone's attention. It is rare to see Volkner using that tone.

"Seriously? Ok, I'm on it. The SPF knows about this already, right? Cool. Thanks for informing, bye."

Volkner ended the call and immediately stood up. He turned towards the group, but what is different is that his usual lazy demeanour is now gone. Volkner is actually serious.

Just what happened?

"Sorry kids, but I have to leave now."

"Are you beating up some bad guys again? Can we watch?"

"Yes, and no. It's too dangerous." Volkner gave a glance to Mary, who returned a reassuring nod to him. That silent gesture is all he needs to know that the elderly matron will ensure that the kids will stay within the building and not venture out in their curiosity.

"Big bro Volkneeeeerrr!"

"Kiddos." Volkner's gaze turned sharp, immediately stopping the kids in their tracks. "No."

The kids all deflated at the order they were given. It has been a long time since they saw Volkner in action with their own eyes. It is a bummer that they cannot witness him taking down these bad guys personally.

"Sorry, but it really is for your own good." He ruffled Martin's hair apologetically, who was standing the closest to him. "This particular case is really too dangerous. Gym trainers, listen up."

The words barked out by their Gym Leader immediately got the group of gym trainers straightening their backs unconsciously. If even Volkner is serious and he actually needs their help, then something big must be happening.

"I want the Elite trainers to follow me. Advanced trainers, pair up and station yourselves at the feeding spots in the city. Sunyshore's SPF should be on it already, but they may need more firepower. I take it everyone has their main team with you?"

His gym trainers all nodded their heads in affirmation.

"Good." As if somehow knowing the right time to make an entrance, Myst teleported into the room just at that moment. "Let's go. I am teleporting everyone to their positions."

* * *

"Poachers, huh." Kayla muttered to herself as she rode on Woofy's back with Vicky and Marco travelling alongside her with their pokemon. Marco is riding on his electrode, who had finally grasped the technique to fly with Magnet Rise although it could only float half a metre off the ground at the most, but it is good enough to give his trainer a ride. Vicky is riding on the back of her magnezone. The three of them are the only Elite trainers among Sunyshore's gym trainers and they are tagging along with Volkner as he had requested.

Volkner led the way as he rode on Simba. He had briefed them that a large group of poachers were sighted not far from the edge of Sunyshore along Route 222. These poachers had been a thorn on the League's side for a long while, but they haven't been apprehended since they eluded any attempts of capture. Not only that, these poachers had been very successful in what they do.

From the information Volkner had just received, a group of more than 50 poachers were sighted and the SPF do not have enough time to mobilise a big enough force that is strong enough to take down such a large group in time. The fact that the poachers were found to be hiding near the mountains that surrounds their city is another problem. It is too hard for the SPF to move their forces there. By the time the SPF reaches where the poachers are, the poachers would have spotted them and make their escape. That means that the best way to take down these poachers before they disappear once more is to send in a small yet powerful group of trainers that can reach the poachers undetected while the SPF tries to keep up from where they are following behind.

The most obvious group of people to send is Volkner and his gym trainers, a.k.a. herself, Vicky, and Marco. It is also part of their job description as Sunyshore's gym trainers to help the city in its time of need, although things had never gotten to the extreme until now. This is the first time for the three of them where they actually have to go and experience a _real_ battle. A battle where anything goes and no rules are in place.

A battle where death is a possibility.

Kayla isn't too concerned about the possibility of death. She, Vicky, and Marco may not have experienced a mob battle before, but they are Elite trainers. They are strong despite their young age. Furthermore, the SPF's forces are just right behind them and they will catch up soon. What bothered her the most is the idea of pokemon being poached. Just the thought of pokemon being poached by these scums made Kayla's blood boil in rage. It is a sickening thought. Pokemon are man's best friend. They should be treated with respect.

Volkner was also wary that these poachers might set their sights on the various feeding spots around their city, even if it is very unlikely given how well protected these places are. Still, he had ordered the advanced level gym trainers to pair up and guard these spots until the situation is solved as a precautionary measure. The city's SPF is on the job as well, but not all of their officers are particularly good in battles. Most of them are only intermediate level trainers who had dropped out of their gym circuit and enlisted in the League's forces so that they can have a paying job. Having extra help in the form of gym trainers will give them a boost in firepower should these poachers somehow sneaked around and launch an attack on the feeding spots.

It will be disastrous if the poachers somehow angered the wild pokemon population in the area. The wild pokemon population had only just started to open up and place their trust in the city's occupants. If that trust is broken, it will take a very long time to restore it. The wild pokemon may even lay a siege on Sunyshore if they are angered, a siege larger than any that Sunyshore had ever faced.

If the worst comes to pass, the efforts that the city had put in for the past five years will go down the drain. Not only that, having a large horde of wild pokemon laying a siege on Sunyshore in their rage can cause a lot of casualties. Almost two hundred years ago, something similar happened to Mahogany when the wild gyarados population in the nearby Lake of Rage were angered. Nearly half of the town got destroyed and a quarter of the city's population were killed. There were no warnings and there wasn't enough time to evacuate everyone. If something similar happened to Sunyshore…

Kayla threw these negative thoughts out of her head. This is why they are here. Sunyshore is their hometown, the place where they all grew up in. They will not allow anyone to jeopardise the safety of their home.

The poachers will be stopped.

Volkner suddenly released his entire team, prompting the three of them to do the same as well. Their pokemon ran by their side silently as the tension in the surrounding air thicken. Simba gave a low growl, and Volkner raised his left arm before suspending it there, causing everyone to tense.

Simba must be observing their targets with his x-ray vision and cueing Volkner that they will reach their destination soon. Volkner is about to give the signal. They had gone through the plan on their way here.

Simba gave another growl.

"Go."

The moment Volkner's hand chopped down, the pokemon of the four trainers leapt into action. Myst took a portion of them with a Teleport and immediately a loud crash can be heard not too far ahead. The four of them soon reached the site of the battle seconds later.

It is a mayhem.

Kayla quickly took command over her team as they faced off a small group of poachers and their pokemon. Like the rest of the gym trainers and their Gym Leader, they had jumped off their pokemon's back so that they now have free reign to battle, only leaving one or two beside them to guard them from harm.

"Woofy, Thunderbolt! Zap, Shock Wave!"

As much as Kayla tried to keep up trying to command each and every of her pokemon, she found herself being overwhelmed and unable to follow the pace of the battle. Not only that, she has to make sure that they don't friendly fire each other, which is actually harder than it seems. Before they had reached here, Volkner had warned them that fighting mobs is a lot different from the official battles that they are so used to. If it wasn't for the fact that there is no way he can handle this alone without doing something drastic, he would not have wanted them to tag along due to how dangerous this is. None of the gym trainers here have experience in fighting mob battles like this, so Volkner had quickly gave them strict instructions on what to do and what to not do when they start their battles.

How had Volkner managed to fight battles like this and win all the time?

Volkner is handling the majority of their opposition with his team as Vik, North, and Scrat surround themselves around Volkner and fire their attacks from a distance. The rest of Volkner's team save Puddle, who is kept in his pokeball since he is too destructive to be released around them, are swiftly demolishing the poachers' pokemon as his electric types became yellow blurs in the large clearing near the foot of a mountain where they are having their battles.

Kayla's attention got drawn to the use of an Earthquake from a rhydon, which immediately got a massive rockslide dropping down on them where they are fighting it out near the base of the mountain. A large burst of Zap Cannon from North destroyed the falling rocks, protecting everyone from harm. Tec rushed in and knocked out the rhydon with a mighty Hammer Arm right after.

"Focus on your battle! I will handle the rockslides!"

Volkner's shout got the three of them to snap their attention back to their respective battles. The reason why the three of them are hesitant to command their team to use their more destructive moves is largely due to where their battle is being fought. Fighting near the foot of a mountain is a bad idea, since any wrong moves may call upon a rockslide if they are destructive enough. No one loves to be buried under piles of rocks, but unfortunately this troublesome location is where their battles are being fought.

"Spinner, Sticky Web!"

Kayla's galvantula released a massive amount of sticky nets made of threads that ensnared a large number of pokemon that she and her team are facing. A combined use of Thunder from Zap and Woofy brought them down.

However, the group of poachers that she was facing are also using this time to make their escape with their pokemon.

"Stay right there!"

Kayla jumped on Woofy's back and they immediately gave chase to the fleeing poachers with her team following her. The poachers cannot be allowed to escape.

"Squirt! Get back here! Don't give chase!"

Kayla knows that she will be disobeying the most important instruction given to her by Volkner before they made their way here, which is to stay together at all times. However, she doesn't want to let any of the poachers escape when they are within grabbing distance. These poachers must be brought to justice and she is _so close_ to apprehending them.

She knows that she will probably get a good telling off from Volkner later, but she couldn't really bring herself to care right now. What is more important is to ensure that the poachers get their just desserts.

She will bring them down.

* * *

"Crap, where did they disappear to?"

Kayla mumbled to herself as she and her pokemon carefully navigate through the small valley that they had tracked the poachers down to. They _have_ to be here somewhere.

"Earth Power!"

The sudden explosion of the ground around them threw them into the air. A huge horde of combees swarmed out from nowhere and began to attack them relentlessly, forcing Kayla and her team to go on the defensive the moment they landed.

Shit, she had just walked into a trap.

Her inexperience in dealing with such a scenario quickly showed. Taking down these combees one by one isn't an issue but taking on an entire nest of combees as large as this is something she had never done before. To make things worse, there are several vespiquens within them as well.

Star, her own luxray, was quickly brought down when a large group of combees focused their efforts on it, forcing her to recall her pokemon. The same goes for Fin, her stunfisk, and Gronk, her alolan golem, when a bunch of quagsires and mamoswines rushed out and took them down with a series of ground type moves.

The poachers are slowly picking her team off one by one. Individually, each of her pokemon may be stronger than any of the poachers', but this is not an official battle. She and her team are still not yet adept in handling a mob battle on such a scale with their own power.

The realisation of her mistake sent a creeping fear crawling up her spine. She immediately tried to command her team to slowly retreat, but her escape path was quickly cut off when a Rock Tomb blocked her only way out of the small valley.

"Heh, think you are so smart, aren't cha?" One of the poachers, who is obviously the leader of his little gang, scoffed at her as a huge hippowdon walked by his side. "You are still years behind us when it comes to fighting a _real_ battle, girly. This is unlike the stupid games you play in your gym battles. Hippowdon, Earthquake!"

The Earthquake released by the hippowdon destroyed the very ground Kayla and her team were standing on. A scream involuntarily escaped her throat when she lost her foothold, but Woofy reacted quickly and pulled her out of harm's way with his jaws and floated briefly with Magnet Rise before landing again. He still isn't able to get the hang of using this move to fly yet.

However, Spinner and Zap were brought down in this short span of time. The poachers' pokemon had used this opportunity to launch their attacks at her two pokemon and Kayla can only recall them back into their pokeballs before they got themselves mauled to death.

"Your pokemon are pretty well-trained, will definitely fetch a high price on the black market." The leader of the poachers gave a crooked smile which his followers mimicked and openly laughed at her plight. "Not so smug without your electric types around, huh? I wonder how loud you will cry and beg when we take your manectric away from you."

Kayla gritted her teeth at his words but at the same time, an unexplainable fear is slowly gripping her.

She should have listened to Volkner. At this rate, these scums are going to have their way with her and her pokemon.

A sudden Hyper Beam shot at her without any prior warning. Kayla tried to dodge it, but her feet seems to be glued to the ground from the shock of the sudden attack. She can feel her eyes widening and her heart jumping into her mouth as she imagined her demise.

A harsh shove sent her tumbling onto the ground just as a loud boom resounded within the valley. Kayla looked up, and saw her starter slumping against the rocky walls of the valley, unconscious and bleeding. Woofy had knocked her away from the Hyper Beam but got himself fatally injured in the process after he took the attack for her. He might die if nothing is done soon.

"WOOFY!"

Kayla quickly got up on her feet to rush to Woofy's side, but a large hand smacked her down onto the ground and pinned her there. The poachers mocked her predicament and to her fear and anger, the leader starts to slowly pick her pokeballs away from her.

"GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE MY POKEMON BACK!"

"What? Did I hear something?" One of the poachers cupped a hand to his ear and feigned deafness, eliciting another round of laughter from his friends. "Oh, a little girl who thinks she is _oh so strong_ is crying for her pokemon. _Awww, how sweet_."

Kayla struggled but another large man sitting on top of her prevented her from even moving an inch from where she is.

The leader used Woofy's pokeball to recall him and Kayla starts to scream herself hoarse at the disappearance of her starter.

"Oh, shut up."

A heavy kick slammed into her head, courtesy of the leader.

"You think this is just a game? You think that having eight badges makes you good enough to take on all of us? Well, newsflash, girly. This is the _real_ world. Thank you for your donation, we will take _very good care _of your pokemon. HAHAHA!"

Kayla can feel herself struggling to not fade into unconsciousness after that kick. They are right. Volkner was right. This isn't like the official battles that she is so used to facing on a daily basis in the gym. This is a real battle. She had stupidly disobeyed orders, and now her pokemon are paying the price.

She is a failure as a trainer.

"Hey boss, what are we going to do to her now? Can't leave her just lying here."

"Isn't it obvious? Off her. It's not like we haven't done it before. We can't let her blab to the League where we disappear to."

Kayla's breath hitched a little at how casually these outlaws spoke about killing others. Is she going to die here?

In her groggy state, she can feel someone lifting her head up by painfully pulling at her hair and the sensation of a cool metal blade pressing against her neck. A big burly man looked down at her without any sense of remorse with a dagger in hand.

_I'm sorry, Woofy. I'm sorry, Zap, Spinner, Star, Fin, Gronk. I failed all of you._

Kayla apologised to her pokemon repeatedly in her head as she looked bitterly at her would-be executioner. She should have listened to Volkner. He is a veteran in handling and suppressing criminals, but her pride just got in her way. He had repeated many times to her **not** to rush off alone before they started to track the poachers down and she _just have to brush his words aside_.

Elite trainer her ass. She can't even protect a single pokemon on her team. What good is she?

The dagger rose into the air and Kayla closed her eyes. If she is lucky enough, it might be quick and painless.

"Hands **_off_**."

The familiar voice caused her to open her eyes in surprise just as she suddenly fell onto the ground. A gallade appeared and stood protectively in front of her with blood covering its body.

"AHHHH! MY ARMS! MY ARMS! AHHHHHHHHH!"

Kayla lifted her head and nearly threw up at the sight of two amputated arms lying nearby. One of the arms is still holding onto the dagger that was supposed to plunge into her throat.

Kayla turned back to the gallade that saved her life, who she knows has to be Myst. Myst is covered in blood, but it is not his blood. It is the blood of the poacher that had tried to kill her.

"Squirt, you alright?"

Kayla nearly collapsed in relief at the sight of Volkner, who quickly caught her with his arms.

"My pokemon… they… they…they took them away!"

Kayla couldn't help but choked out a sob as tears started to stream down her face. Volkner held her close, allowing her to cry into his chest.

"Don't worry. I will get them back for you."

"Shit, it's Volkner! Run!"

"Don't bother. You think Myst is just standing there looking pretty as he glares at you? That was Mean Look. Even Teleport will not be able to save you now."

Kayla opened her eyes a little and looked up at Volkner, who is looking straight ahead at the large group of poachers. His usually bored face is now contorted in rage.

"Prime."

Volkner's shadows moved and a rotom emerged from it before floating in front of Myst. Whirr and Vik moved from their spots beside Volkner and joined Prime as Myst retreated to stand guard by her and Volkner's side.

Kayla's attention was brought back to Volkner when he placed a reassuring hand on her head.

"Don't worry. We will get Woofy and rest of your team back."

Kayla tried her best to squeeze out a smile. There's nothing else she can do now but to place her faith in her Gym Leader. If anyone can take down this group of poachers alone and get her team back, it will be him.

* * *

_How **dare** they._

Trying to even think about poaching pokemon near my city is one thing, but to steal the pokemon from _my Gym Trainer_ is another. They even attempted _to **kill**_ the squirt.

"Prime, Vik, Whirr, go wild."

Upon my order, the three of them dove in to destroy the group of poachers who had the audacity to harm the people and pokemon I had sworn to protect the moment I took on the mantle as Sunyshore's 42nd Gym Leader. Vik and Whirr may not be the strongest on my team, but they are the more bloodthirsty ones. They will not show mercy.

Not to anyone who actually had the gall to try and _kill_ the squirt and escape with her pokemon.

I had to leave the rest of my team behind with Vicky and Marco to clean up the battlefield and chased after Kayla with only four pokemon with me. I'm glad I did that. Kayla would have been dead if we were a second later. Tracking a single individual in the mountainous area is hard, even with Myst at my side. It was a miracle we even arrived in time.

"Squirt, which one took your pokemon?"

"That… that one."

Kayla pointed a shaky finger at who I assumed is the leader of their group since he is the one barking orders at the rest of the poachers who are trying to defend themselves from the slaughter they are facing. I don't know if Kayla's finger is shaking from rage or from the near-death experience she had. I will have to talk to her later, now is not the right time.

_'Myst, bring him here and get the squirt's pokemon back.'_

After giving Myst my order through our telepathic link, Myst's eyes glowed a blue hue and the leader of the gang suddenly found himself flying towards us due to Myst's use of Psychic.

"Hippowdon!"

A gigantic hippowdon burst out from the ground attempting to crush us with its opened jaws. Myst used a Teleport to transport us a few metres away from our previous location just as Prime reappeared from the shadows to battle the hippowdon.

"Your electric types are useless against a ground type like my hippowdon! Hippowdon, Rock Slide!"

Type advantages doesn't mean a thing in front of me, not when the difference in our skill level is so big. I will show him what a true Electric Specialist can do.

"Prime, use Charge followed by Charge Beam! Destroy the rocks!"

Prime buzzed with a huge amount of static before unleashing it in a beam of electricity that tore through the rocks hippowdon had attempted to bury us alive with. The poacher isn't wrong to say that electric type attacks are useless against ground types, but that doesn't mean that we are completely helpless when we have ground types as our opponents.

A sandstorm brewed as hippowdon's Sand Stream ability took effect. I won't allow the poacher and his hippowdon to have the environmental advantage.

"Charge and Discharge! Blow away the sandstorm, follow up with Rain Dance!"

The sandstorm was forcefully dispersed with Prime's powers and rain clouds starts to form overhead over the blue skies. Whirr and Vik used this to their advantage as they start to summon streaks of lightning from above to decimate their foes.

"Get the rotom! Crunch!"

Hippowdon charged in with snapping jaws as Prime dove in and out of the shadows, making sure to stay out of hippowdon's range as it blasted a Shadow Ball at the ground type. Hippowdon tried to hit Prime with rock type attacks, but Prime is too hard to catch with its ability to hide within the shadows. Prime continues to fire overpowered Charge Beams which effects were boosted with multiple usages of Charge to blow up the area surrounding hippowdon, kicking up large amount of rock and dirt that obscure its vision of Prime and hindered its ability to move around freely.

"Confuse Ray!"

Prime sent a ghostly light at hippowdon, who is now inflicted with the confused ailment.

"Shadow Ball, take it out!"

A Shadow Ball at least five times the size of Prime was thrown at the hippowdon and sent it flying. The hippowdon didn't stop even after crashing through the mobs of poachers at the far back where Whirr and Vik are. However, it is now definitely out for the count.

"No way! How did that Shadow Ball-"

Obviously, it was because I had Prime used Charge Beam repeatedly to raise its offensive powers to ridiculous degrees although I won't be explaining that to the poacher. There are many ways to use electric type attacks other than using it to force your win with brute strength, like the one I am planning on letting Prime use on him.

"Thunder Wave."

Prime shocked the poacher with a watered-down version of Thunder Wave, causing him to fall and convulse uncontrollably on the ground. Myst grabbed the sack of pokeballs from the fallen poacher and used its psychic abilities to find out which ones belongs to Kayla before returning them back to her.

"Prime, go help Whirr and Vik."

Prime jumped back into the fray happily upon my words. I gave a comforting pat on Kayla's back as she held her pokeballs close to her chest and sobbed uncontrollably while apologising profusely to them over and over again. By the time trainers reached the level of an Elite trainer, they would have forged a very strong bond with their pokemon. Losing a single one of them can be devastating on their psyche. The same goes for me as well. I will either fly into an angry rage or break down if I somehow lose any member of my team in that manner, I don't know which. I am lucky enough to not experience something like this thus far and I don't want to know what it feels like.

More and more pokemon are swarming out from the poachers' side as they tried to overwhelm us with sheer numbers. Fools.

I will teach them not to mess with my city and its people. I will teach them not to mess with **_ME_**.

"The three of you, Discharge. Blow everything up, it will be easier for the rest to find us."

Myst threw up a shield of Protect to shield us as the other three very gleefully blew up the entire area in a surge of bright light. It seems that Whirr had also somehow found time to use a Rain Dance to gather even more rain clouds. On top of using Protect, Myst had very thoughtfully erected a psychic pane which is a combination of Reflect and Light Screen that shield me and Kayla from the rain.

Perfect.

"Prime, Shock Wave, Chain version."

Large streaks of lightning fell from the skies one after the other as multiple Shock Waves found their targets. Prime rained them down repeatedly without rest as Vik and Whirr opted to use Thunder instead, which is a lot more destructive but have a longer charging time. If the poachers are smart enough, they will find a place to hide until it's all over. If not, not my fault if they got themselves killed. Their pokemon can survive an attack of this level, but I'm not so sure if humans can live through getting hit by attacks like those.

"Aim for the gallade! Then we can all Teleport out of here once his Mean Look loses effect!"

An angry roar reverberated across the valley as Simba made his appearance and pounced onto the man who just suggested that bright idea before slamming him into a rock wall with a swing of his paw. More yellows streaks of light landed beside me and Kayla from the stormy skies. It seems that the rest of my team had finally caught up. The electrical explosions earlier are too obvious a sign to be missed.

"Go, but I want them alive."

Franky led the charge as the rest of my team joined Prime, Vik, and Whirr in wiping out the remaining poachers and their pokemon. Scrat, Squeaky, and Myst remained by our side. Kayla's sobs had started to die down by now and she watched with me as my team helped her enact her revenge.

"Run off like that one more time, and I will make sure you will have an even harder time waking me up every morning, squirt."

Kayla winced at my remark, but she remained silent as she looked guiltily at her feet.

"Don't look down, look up. Watch and reflect on your mistakes. You lost not because you are weak, but because you were stupid. You were too arrogant and you let your emotions dictate your actions. You are still too inexperienced. This is why you need to learn. Observe how my team fights these assholes and see for yourself how different you handled them as compared to how I did. You need to think and understand why my way of handling them is more efficient. Once you can understand, then only can you start to grow. The next time you find yourself in a mob battle like this, hopefully you won't make the same mistakes. I will save the scolding for later. For now, just watch and try to learn as much as possible."

Kayla forced herself to look at the scene of destruction in front of us at my words. If there is one good aspect I like about her, it is that she is willing to reflect on her mistakes and learn, a quality that is severely lacking in many trainers I had seen during my gym circuit and my own travels. Kayla has the potential to grow into the level of a Thirteen Pillar in the future, it was why I chose her to be my head gym trainer and kept picking on her specifically out of the many gym trainers that had come and go in Sunyshore Gym over the years. She completed her gym circuit in just a single year before joining my gym as a gym trainer. She's only fifteen this year and she's already in the upper tier of the Elite trainer level. Not many can achieve that.

The ones that do are usually the ones who somehow found themselves as a member of their region's Thirteen Pillar in the future. Flint and I were once like Kayla too. All of us had similar achievements. Going by that logic and her growth rate, Kayla will definitely be an amazing trainer in the future.

If she doesn't go and do something stupid and get herself killed, that is.

But that is why I am here. It is my responsibility as a Gym Leader to help trainers when they inevitably made mistakes along the way. Experience is the best teacher if you survived the ordeal. I will make sure she survives this.

Deciding that I should make full use of the time I spent waiting for my team to finish their job, I decided to give the leader a violent wakeup call with a kick to his gut. On top of Prime's Thunder Wave earlier, Myst will prevent him from moving with his psychic powers. I need to know why these poachers are here. It is obvious that they are not here to simply poach pokemon. Something much bigger is going on behind the scenes and I need to know what it is.

"Speak. Who do you work for?"

The guy wheezed on the floor in pain where he lay, but he didn't say anything. Putting up a tough guy act, eh? I wonder how long can he stay that way?

I walked to his back and grabbed his arm.

And twisted it out of its socket.

"ARRRRGGHHH!"

"**Who** do you work for?"

"I am not telling you! AHHHH!"

His index finger is what I dislocated this time. There are laws against enacting physical torture on criminals, but I couldn't bring myself to give a shit about these laws right now. I can always set the dislocated bones right back without anyone the wiser. No one will trust the poacher's words over those of a Gym Leader anyway.

And I really want to vent my anger on someone for what had nearly happened to Kayla, and who else is a better candidate than the one who tried to _kill_ my gym trainer? They had tried to kill her right under my very nose.

Kayla seemed shocked at the display of my ruthless side. I don't want to show this to her either, but these poachers are obviously taking orders from a way bigger organisation. It was a topic that was discussed in the latest meeting between the Thirteen Pillars. I have a feeling I know which organisation it is, but I need concrete proof.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." I spoke in a monotone and gestured for Kayla to turn around if this is too much for her to handle. She decided to continue watching. "I can break every bone in your body until you coughed up everything you know, or I can just order my gallade to mind-rape you with his psychic powers and leave you in a coma for life. Your choice."

"W-Wait… I…"

"Too long. Another finger."

I twisted his middle finger out from its rightful place and he squealed once more.

"**_WHO_** gives you your orders? Why are you guys here and what do you want from Sunyshore? My patience is running thin."

I made a move for another of his finger. That was the last straw before he starts to blurt everything out.

"I DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE INDIVIDUALLY! I JUST KNOW THEY CALL THEMSELVES TEAM GALACTIC!"

I clenched my fists in rage as my worst fears were confirmed. I had thought it to be weird that there were no signs of Team Galactic until now ever since I was reincarnated here. I chalked it up to the fact that I was reincarnated about two decades earlier before the plot started. Is this their debut?

"What else?"

"T-They wanted us to steal the pokemon at Sunyshore's feeding spots!"

"You expect me to believe that?" I broke another finger this time. The feeding spots are heavily guarded round the clock. It won't be easy to poach pokemon within the city in broad daylight and anyone with a working brain will know that it will take a lot more than 50 poachers to get off with a successful heist. That's how heavily guarded the feeding spots are. The only reason why I stationed the rest of my gym trainers there is for extra insurance and for them to have a learning experience. Technically, they don't need to be there, but I want to make full use of this opportunity for them to learn. I want them to know what it feels like to work in the League's forces, since most of them are planning to enlist in it after they quit being a gym trainer.

"IT'S THE TRU-!"

A swift punch from me broke his nose. I have no patience for this.

"If you think I will run out of bones to break, then you are wrong." I demonstrated my point as I painfully reset his nose and crouch down to his eye level, ignoring his pained screams. "I didn't break them, I merely dislocated them. I can always reset your bones and then dislocate it _over and over again_. Want to try?"

I raised another hand, and this time, he caved in.

"We were the distraction!" He screamed out before I can lay my hands on him. "There were another group of us who were supposed to rile up the wild pokemon in the sea to launch an attack on Sunyshore! We were supposed to loot the city of money and pokemon during that time! Whichever we can get our hands on!"

_What?_

"It's the truth!" The scum started to beg and plead from where he remained pinned onto the ground by Myst's psychic powers, who had gradually increased the force he used to slowly crush the man against the floor to encourage him to spill the beans faster. "It's the truth!"

_'Master, I can sense that he is not lying. We need to make haste and return.'_

_'I know. Myst, tell the rest to hurry with their job here. We need to go back and protect the city.'_

"Volkner!" Kayla walked up to me as I knocked out the poacher which I had just interrogated. "We need to-"

"I know. Jarvis, relay what we learnt to Sunyshore's SPF and the League. Send a personal message to the other Gym Leaders to keep an eye on their own city, I am overriding all usual protocols and issuing an emergency alert on the level of Code Black with my authority as a Gym Leader. Tell the SPF to hurry and evacuate all the citizens to the shelters or out of the city if possible. We also need more help. Get the Elite Four or Cynthia here, whoever is available." I say out loud to no one in particular, but I know Jarvis can hear me thanks to the poketch on my wrist where he usually dwells in his data form. He had never failed me and I know he will never fail me.

Franky and co. will finish up within a minute or two. Tec and North should still be with Vicky and Marco, the two of them should be alright with my two rock types protecting them. I need to find a way to transport the fallen poachers to the SPF's hands before I rush back to Sunyshore. I cannot leave them here unwatched.

It is a good thing I brought Puddle with me before coming here. I didn't use him until now because he is simply too destructive. The only place he can fight without worrying that he will destroy everything in sight is the open sea, which will be our battlefield later. For now, he can help transport the fallen poachers to the SPF.

I ran a frustrated hand through my messy hair. Puddle may be the leader of the wild pokemon population of the sea surrounding Sunyshore, but even he may not be able to keep them in line if the wild pokemon were riled up and loses their mind in a fit of rage. There are many water type pokemon in the seas surrounding Sunyshore, if they all decided to launch a combined siege on the city in their rage, Sunyshore is toast.

The worst part of this entire fiasco is that she is on a ship right now that will be reaching Sunyshore soon. I may have taught her how to teach her pokemon to fly with Magnet Rise but fighting on the sea is not her specialty. I know she is strong, but she is not one who gets herself into battles like this often unlike me. I had lots of experience in handling hordes of pokemon due to how often Flint and I challenged the city's thugs when we were just kids. She didn't have the same kind of battle experience as I do, she is too gentle for that. If the information we got was real and she gets caught up in the imminent attack on Sunyshore…

I know she can take care of herself, but I still need to hurry. I am not risking anything when it comes to her.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**

**Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Garchomp**

**2) ****Roserade**

**3) ****Spiritomb**

**4) ****Lucario**

**5) ****Milotic**

**6) ****Gastrodon**

**7) ****Togekiss**

**8) ****Glaceon**

**9) ****Braviary**

**10) ****Eelektross**

**Kayla: Sunyshore Head Gym Trainer, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Elite Trainer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Manectric (Woofy)**

**2) ****Zebstrika (Zap)**

**3) ****Galvantula (Spinner)**

**4) ****Luxray (Star)**

**5) ****Stunfisk (Fin)**

**6) ****Alolan Golem (Gronk)**


	9. Chapter 9- Her Name is Jasmine

The skies are as blue as ever. There isn't much clouds hanging overhead today, allowing even more sunlight than usual to beam down over the sea where she is at.

Jasmine leaned against the railings of the ship she is boarded on and closed her eyes, allowing the cool sea breeze to caress her face. She is in a very good mood since she will be able to see him in less than an hour.

Amphy stood beside her, keeping her company alongside Lucy, her lucario. The lucario species are native to the Sinnoh region. Jasmine have no idea how Volkner managed to even find Lucy since Lucy's species is very rare to come across, but she suspects that he had bought Lucy from somewhere and then gave Lucy to her. The same goes for many of her other pokemon that is not native to the Johto region.

If this isn't proof that he cares a lot about her, then she doesn't know what is. Given Volkner's lazy personality, he won't do something troublesome like this for just anyone else. At the very least, she knows for sure that she is important to him.

The thought of that alone makes her extremely happy.

She sat down on a nearby chair, only to find herself standing up and walking about the deck restlessly before sitting again. She knows she is too excited to keep still, but she couldn't help it. It's been a while since they had met.

Lucy suddenly turned around and faced in a certain direction with a concerned expression on her face. It got Jasmine's immediate attention.

"Lucy? What's wrong?"

The faint sound of a roar resounded from the sea somewhere. Jasmine frowned. She recognised that roar immediately since she had heard it many times since she was a kid. That roar belongs to a gyarados, a species of pokemon that can be found almost anywhere in any region as long as there are huge bodies of water. Olivine is situated next to the sea, so hearing the roars of gyarados is a common occurrence.

What got her concerned was that the first roar was echoed by many others. There is a large pack of gyarados here somewhere. These pokemon may be ferocious, but they usually will not attack anyone or anything if left unprovoked. The ship should be fine.

Amphy pointed in a direction further out on the sea and Jasmine can see the flashing red lights blinking from the ocean surface.

Tentacools and tentacruels, and such a huge number of them too. This is certainly unusual.

She has a really bad feeling about this.

Lucy bristled and growled, and Jasmine decided that she should heed the warning given by her companion. Lucy has the ability to detect and read the thoughts, movements, and emotions of living things. If she deems the huge number of wild pokemon as a threat, then it is most likely a threat.

Jasmine quickly walked to the cabin where the captain of the ship is and gave a polite knock on the door. The captain swung the door open seconds later.

"Um… I think you may want to speed the ship up." Jasmine spoke in her usual soft voice as she pointed to where the group of tentacools and tentacruels are gathered a far distance behind the ship but is slowly moving in their direction. They are now definitely being targeted even if she doesn't know why.

The captain's eyes nearly bogged out of its sockets when he spotted just how many of these water types are heading their way. The fact that the roars of the gyarados are getting louder isn't helping things too.

"Arceus! Why now of all times?! This route has been very safe to travel on ever since Volkner became the Gym Leader of Sunyshore! Boys, full speed ahead! Get the passengers into their rooms! Deploy your pokemon! Someone send a message to Sunyshore's Coastal Guards for backup!" The captain bellowed out to his crew as they quickly got to work. The passengers had also all spotted the growing number of wild pokemon congregating not far from where they are. To their credit, they didn't panic as much as Jasmine had expected them to be.

"You will need to go back to your own room, miss. Let me and my boys handle it from here. There are some of us here who are advanced or even Elite trainers. We will defend the ship and its passengers with our lives."

"Ah, about that…" Jasmine gave an awkward scratch on her cheek with an equally awkward smile. Although she has been a Gym Leader for five years, people seem to forget how she look like or the fact that she even existed. "I am a Gym Leader. I am sure I can help out somehow."

Jasmine can see the captain's jaw dropping for a second before he closed them up again. Jasmine resisted the urge to sigh. Why can't people remember how she looks like?! She is the only member of the Johto's Thirteen Pillars that is always forgotten by the masses! Why?!

"No wonder you look so familiar. By chance, is there any way you can scare these wild pokemon off?"

"I'm afraid doing that will just cause the very opposite to happen instead." Jasmine admitted. "Not all wild pokemon react kindly to threats, especially so for the tentacruel and gyarados species who are known for their violent temperament. I will help defend the ship if they really do launch an attack on us, but we should still try to reach Sunyshore as fast as possible."

"Right. Thank you for your help, Miss… uh…"

Jasmine gave another mental sigh, but still responded to the captain in a polite tone.

"Jasmine. My name is Jasmine. And you should really start to get the ship to speed up."

The captain wasted no time in going back to do his job as Jasmine returned to the deck of the ship where she gave a sweeping look at her surroundings. There is still no land in sight.

"Lucy. How probable do you think that these pokemon will attack us?"

From the look that her lucario is giving her, Jasmine can only deduce that it is extremely likely that they will be finding themselves in a fierce battle soon. She and her team don't have much experience in fighting on the sea, but she has faith that they can handle themselves in such a fight.

No matter how harmless she looks, she _is_ a member of her region's Thirteen Pillars. She is one of the strongest trainers in her region.

The ringing of her pokegear caught her attention and Jasmine quickly answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Jas! Where are you right now? I just received information that a large group of wild pokemon may be on their way to attack Sunyshore from the sea! You need to get out of there!"

"Hi, Volk. And it is a little too late for that, actually." Jasmine replied Volkner as she gave another look at the growing number of wild pokemon. Great, now even other species of pokemon like seadras and jellicents are joining in. She even spotted a few small groups of crawdaunts in the mix. And are those packs of sharpedos? "Our ship is definitely getting targeted by a very large group of wild water types and we are still a little too far from Sunyshore. I will send you my exact location, it will be easier for you to locate me that way. The ship needs backup."

"I'm coming over right now! Hang in there! Stay safe!"

Jasmine can't help but smile a little at Volkner's worried tone despite the situation she found herself in. He tends to worry a little too much when it comes to her, but she enjoys the attention that he gives her.

"I will."

Their call ended just when the group of wild pokemon suddenly started to chase after their ship at full speed. The tentacool line and jellicent line are not known for their speed even in the water, but species like the seadra and sharpedo will reach them within a minute at the most.

Jasmine walked up to the edge of the deck as she quickly sent her current location to Volkner with her pokegear. Many of the passengers had retreated back to their cabins upon the crew's instructions. A few passengers who are obviously trainers had stayed behind voluntarily to repel the attack on their ship. From the looks on their faces, they are not confident in taking on the huge horde of wild pokemon heading their way.

"Miss! You need to go back to your cabin! It is too dangerous out here!"

Jasmine ignored their worried words and continue to walk forward calmly and stood in front of the group. She can feel herself getting more confident as the invisible countdown timer to the upcoming battle ticks down. Volkner had always said that she displays a totally different personality the moment she enters a battle, one that is the total opposite from her usual shy and quiet self. According to him, it is almost like she has split personalities.

Jasmine threw the pokeballs that contain her entire team into the air towards the sea, releasing them for battle as she gave them their first command.

"Magnet Rise."

Her steel types floated in the air as they immediately realised the reason why they were called out by their trainer. Jasmine hopped onto Steely's large head. It will be easier for her to command her team from there. She can also feel the shocked stares that the trainers and ship's crew are giving her, surprised by the amount of power exuded by her pokemon. However, she doesn't have time for them right now.

"Leave the bulk of the fighting to me. All of you should focus on defending the ship."

"But, miss! It's too-"

"Hey, doesn't she look kind of familiar?"

"That steelix… Is she the Gym Leader of Olivine? What is she doing all the way out here?"

"Who cares?! Our chances of survival just bumped up!"

Finally, someone who remembers who she is.

"Bronzy, stay with the ship." Jasmine said to her bronzong, who is unable to fly in the air with Magnet Rise since it is incapable of learning that move. There are other ways for it to achieve a similar effect of flight, but she wants one of her pokemon to stay with the ship just in case. "Protect the ship and its occupants."

Huge blasts of water shot at them from the water types who had just reached their firing range. Magny quickly destroyed the blasts of water with his electric type attacks before returning fire with a Magnet Bomb, producing a loud boom and sending the water types flying back from the impact of the attack.

"Flash Cannon!"

Her army of steel types immediately unleashed beams of Flash Cannon that took out the first wave of wild pokemon in a single salvo. Jasmine stood confidently on Steely's big head, racking her brain on the best way to get out of this sticky situation.

Unfortunately, she drew a blank.

A large flock of wingulls and pelippers flew towards them angrily as her team charged at them to meet them in battle. Emy, Molly and Steely remained behind with her as they witness the team taking out the flying types in quick succession and sent them dropping down onto the ocean surface. The tentacruels and jellicents will be approaching soon.

"Emy, push the tentacruels and tentacools back with Surf. Delay them for as long as possible."

Her empoleon summoned a massive tidal wave of water that swept a large group of the approaching water types away from the ship. Steely wasn't idle either, and used Autotomize to increase its speed by reducing its weight, preparing herself for the larger battle ahead. Her mawile, Molly, stood by her side on Steely's head as she fired her own attacks from her position. Molly's main role is to defend her trainer from any stray attacks that might harm her.

A Metal Burst from her bastiodon, Bobby, caught her attention as he successfully repelled a large flock of pelippers before he purposely dropped himself down onto the ocean surface with a Heavy Slam. The combination of his dense weight and the attack created another wall of water that crashed onto their foes. Magny rained a combination of electric beams and Mirror Shots onto a group of crawdaunts as Clang, her Klinklang, dove into the thick of battle while activating Shift Gear to raise its offense and speed before smashing into its foes with Gear Grind in reckless abandon. None of the attacks from the wild pokemon here is strong enough to harm it due to its solid defences.

Jasmine is glad that Volkner had taught her how to teach her team how to use Magnet Rise to its full potential. She is also equally glad that he had shared with her his experiences in handling mob battles like this. They would not have been able to fight a battle on the sea with such effectiveness otherwise.

Skia, her skarmory, took on another large flock of angry pelippers by her lonesome. Her metal plating is too hard for the sea birds to do any real damage to her. Amphy provided support by shooting Shock Waves and Thunder Waves, aiming to help by restricting their enemies' movements instead of doing damage since the rest of the team had that covered. Forest and Thorny, her forretress and ferrothorn, joined Clang in charging through the masses of water types with Gyro Ball. Mety, her metagross, took on the stronger group of tentacruels on its own as it smashed them with its powerful legs with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash, stomping its opposition with a violent streak. Drilly, her excadrill, adopted a hit-and-run tactic by diving in and out of the jellicents and slashed at them with repeated use of Smart Strikes and Metal Claws. Lucy hovered near Drilly as she sent overpowered beams of Flash Cannons that wiped out any of their foes that Drilly had missed.

A collective roar was heard and an enormous number of gyarados burst out from the waters before charging straight at her and the ship. It seems that her worst fears had finally came true.

Jasmine idly fiddled at the Key Stone that she fashioned into a simple hair tie to tie her hair into her signature pigtail style. It seems that she might really need to utilise Mega Evolution to defend the ship from harm, depending on how intense the battle might be later. She crouched down from where she is on Steely's head and gave her biggest pokemon a pat with her hand. She will need to make sure that she doesn't fall off Steely's head when their battle with the pack of gyarados finally started. It will be embarrassing if that happens.

Mety floated back by her side as Emy swam to their front. Molly stood by her as usual. The four of them should be enough to handle the pack of gyarados. The rest of the team can handle the main bulk of the other water types before joining them later. A quick glance at her pokemon showed her that her team had barely gotten a single scratch since their battle first started. They will be alright.

"Let's go, Steely, Mety, Emy, Molly."

Without further ado, they charged in.

* * *

Keith Hopper has been a seafarer for more than three decades. He is not bold enough to claim that he had seen it all during his frequent sea journeys that took him to all sorts of places across the world, but he knows that he had seen his fair share of ridiculous and unbelievable stuffs. This is part of being a sailor, it is the unsaid part of the job description.

But in all his life as a sailor, he had never seen a _flying_ _steelix_ before. Not only that, that girl's entire team of steel types are all able to somehow not just levitate in the air despite their heavy weight, but actually capable of actual flight.

_Flying_ _steelix_? _Flying_ _lucario_? Or maybe flying mawile, forretress, ferrothorn, and even a klinklang along with some of the other rare steel types that are hardly seen? What is this world coming to? Did all of these steel types somehow gain a flying typing without him knowing about it?

If you are the type of person like him who has to see it to believe it, then you can see it all right here on his ship, S.S. Dominion.

Just _who_ is this young lady?!

His heart nearly dropped into his stomach when he saw that the young lady simply charged into the pack of wild gyarados that just appeared with only four pokemon by her side. He and the other trainers on the ship tried to help, but none of their pokemon are able to match the lady's pokemon team with how intense their battles are. As of now, them trying to help will only be a hindrance for her. They can only stand and watch.

"No, I'm sure of it. She is Jasmine! The Iron Wall of Olivine! Just look at her team of steel types and her steelix!"

The outburst of a trainer nearby who is talking to his friend got Keith to squint his eyes and look at the young lady once more, who is now in the middle of the pack of wild gyarados while riding atop of her steelix. Her steelix simply braved through the Hyper Beams unleashed by a few gyarados without so much as a single scratch on its diamond-like body. The steelix returned the warm welcome it received with a massive Flash Cannon that got everyone on their ship to cover their eyes from the bright light. When the light died down, those gyarados had disappeared with only a massive ripple of water as the only indication that they had once been there.

What a scarily strong steelix.

There's no doubt in his mind now. The young lady is indeed the Gym Leader of Olivine. She has to be, given how good she is in taking on a large pack of gyarados with nothing but four pokemon on her side. Who would have expected that such a sweet and polite little lass to be an unstoppable warrior in a pokemon battle? Each of the member on her team is like a moving fortress on their own.

He can now see why people called her The Iron Wall of Olivine. The group of wild pokemon didn't even managed to advance ever since the battle first started. Even the appearance of the pack of gyarados didn't manage to send her team retreating backwards.

Keith gave a subtle glance at the bronzong hovering on the deck. If the power of the other members of the lass's team is any indication, this bronzong is probably highly trained as well. The ship should be safe.

The trainers and the crew who gathered on the deck all let out a worried shout when more and more of these ferocious sea serpents emerged from the sea and gathered around the Gym Leader and her steelix which she is riding on. The steelix didn't look the least bit concerned at the fact that it has been surrounded.

They found out why a second later.

The steelix curled itself up before suddenly lashing out with its tail. Keith recognised that attack as Iron Tail, and that attack actually got a number of gyarados that were unfortunate enough to be within striking distance to _fly_ away from the blow. The force of the blow produced a violent wind that can actually be felt from the ship, startling everyone on board.

By Kyogre's name! Just how strong is this young lady and her steelix?! How can a simple Iron Tail send gyarados flying away like they are helpless magikarps?!

The ship is gaining speed and getting further and further away from the young lady and her team of pokemon. They are too far away to help her now, not like they can help her in the first place given the difference in their abilities as a trainer. He can only pray to the legendaries above that she will return safe and sound.

If only there is someone who is capable enough to help her without dragging her down.

"Ahead! Another gyarados!"

To everyone's horror, another gyarados appeared right in front of their ship. This particular gyarados is way larger than the others of its kind which they had just spotted.

"Everyone! Get ready!"

The entire group of trainers and the ship's crew released their pokemon out and braced themselves for a bloody fight with this monstrous gyarados, who is heading straight for their ship at full speed.

"ON THE COUNT OF THREE! THREE! TWO!"

The countdown didn't finish as the gyarados suddenly splashed at the water with a powerful smack of its tail before suddenly taking off into the air.

"What the…"

"How?!"

Ignoring the surprised cries of the people around him, Keith's mind temporarily stopped working as for the first time in his life, he witnesses a gyarados flying in the air at breakneck speed. The gyarados ignored them as it zoomed past the ship with a large volume of water splashing down at them from how it had smacked the water surface earlier.

_Why is every single pokemon flying in the air today?! Most importantly, how?!_

He had heard from the older sailors that the gyarados species is actually capable of flight, although not many are able to achieve that feat since the gyarados in question must be really strong to be able unlock this ability in the first place. Keith doesn't want to even imagine how powerful this gyarados is to be able to fly as well as the pelippers squawking about in the skies.

Keith wiped the seawater off his face and watched as the gyarados unleashed a massive Hyper Beam that tore through the group of tentacruels that the other steel types from the lady's team were fighting against. Yellow streaks of light suddenly appeared in the sky as they rushed in and zipped past the wild water types with huge bursts of electricity.

That gyarados must be an ally. Upon taking a closer look, there is actually someone standing on its head and commanding it. But what are those yellow lights?

The yellow streaks of light separated into two groups. One group went to help the steel types to push back the still growing numbers of tentacruels. Another group went to attack the pack of gyarados from another direction together with the gyarados and its trainer.

"It's Volkner! Volkner has come to help!"

_That is Volkner? The Gym Leader of Sunyshore?_

"With two Gym Leaders around, we are saved!"

"You guys can do it! Win this!"

The entire ship began to cheer for their saviours from where they are, although Keith is sure that they are too far away by now for the two Gym Leaders to hear what they are screaming about. He isn't sure how strong the young lady is, but he had seen Volkner in action before a few years back when the S.S. Dominion had docked in Sunyshore for a short while. He happened to chance upon the young man uprooting a criminal syndicate in the city while he was exploring the place.

Keith clasped his hands together in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and sincerely gave a silent prayer to whatever legendaries out there that might hear his plea.

_Please, keep them safe._

This is the least he can do for their saviours.

* * *

"Volk?"

Jasmine let out a pleasantly surprised tone when she spotted Volkner and his team attacking the pack of gyarados from another direction as he rode on Puddle's head. That massive gyarados of his charged through the opposition with a Waterfall and reached her and Steely.

"Jas! You alright?!"

"I'm fine!" Jasmine shouted her reply back to Volkner over the strong winds of the sea. "We need to end this as soon as possible! They just keep coming!"

Puddle started a Rain Dance and some of Volkner's electric types used this chance to drop bolts of lightning down from the sky. Jasmine and Volkner pressed on their advantage as they kept up the pressure of their attacks on the packs of wild gyarados. The rest of their team who were keeping the wild tentacruel population busy should be done soon, assuming that more of them won't pop out from somewhere.

"Jas, let's end this."

Jasmine saw Volkner pulling up the long sleeve of his blue jacket upwards a little, just enough to reveal the bracelet he wore around his wrist with a Key Stone embedded on it. She rose a hand and touch her own Key Stone that she tied around her hair. What Volkner is planning to do is obvious.

The two of them braced themselves for the power surge that they will be giving to their pokemon. Her iron snake and his sea serpent floated side by side as they too prepared themselves to undergo a temporary transformation.

On an unspoken signal, the two of them invoked the process together.

"**MEGA EVOLUTION**!"

* * *

**AN: I'm starting to like to use cliffhangers. Muahaha**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**

**Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Garchomp**

**2) ****Roserade**

**3) ****Spiritomb**

**4) ****Lucario**

**5) ****Milotic**

**6) ****Gastrodon**

**7) ****Togekiss**

**8) ****Glaceon**

**9) ****Braviary**

**10) ****Eelektross**

**Kayla: Sunyshore Head Gym Trainer, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Elite Trainer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Manectric (Woofy)**

**2) ****Zebstrika (Zap)**

**3) ****Galvantula (Spinner)**

**4) ****Luxray (Star)**

**5) ****Stunfisk (Fin)**

**6) ****Alolan Golem (Gronk)**


	10. Chapter 10- Anything Else Can Wait

This is not going according to plan.

Rogers Craig ran through the dense woods as he tried his best to escape the mass of SPFs hot on his trail. It was supposed to be simple. Anger the wild water type pokemon around Sunyshore, direct their rage to the city, hide themselves, and then pillage the destroyed city thereafter. It was supposed to be simple.

And then somehow, as if the entire of Sinnoh had somehow got wind of their plans, the entire SPF was mobilised to stop them even faster than they could blink. The speed at which they were deployed and how they moved as if they knew where they would be makes him suspect that someone had ratted out the entirety of their plans. Who?! And how?!

Rogers and his team had only just managed to succeed in riling up the water types around Sunyshore before moving themselves to the outskirts of the city where they are supposed to hide and wait for the right opportunity. He had been in his hidey hole for only less than ten minutes when the SPF came knocking on their doors.

Naturally, he ditched his fellow poachers and ran. It's not like they are true comrades, they just happen to be working in the same profession and have the same temporary employer, the organisation that called themselves Team Galactic. A stupid name if you ask him, but they pay good money so he isn't going to question their naming sense just yet.

He will definitely be demanding a pay rise if he manages to escape out of here. Getting teams of SPF after his ass is definitely not part of the agreement.

Rogers and his floatzel ran side by side as they weaved through the hidden paths in the forest, one of their many escape routes just in case things ever go wrong like right now. He had always been a very meticulous person and his preparedness is the only thing right now saving him from a lifetime of imprisonment.

He took a breather in a secluded area in the woods and checked his back. It seems that he had lost his pursuers at the cost of his entire team of poachers. It will take some time before he can gather another group of poachers to take on another job as large as this, but at least he is not caught yet.

The sounds of shuffling leaves immediately got him and floatzel on high alert. He turned to the source of the noise and spotted an infernape emerging from the trees as it swung itself through the branches and stopped when it spotted him. The infernape gave him and floatzel a grin, one that got his instincts as a poacher blaring at full blast.

An unexpected Flamethrower got him and floatzel dodging to a side as the infernape redirected the cone of flames and swept it in his direction. Floatzel responded with a Hydro Pump of its own, but even his trusty partner's attack was evaporated by the intense heat of the flames, shocking them.

_How?!_

The short amount of time where floatzel was stunned by the sight is enough time for infernape to evaporate the entirety of its Hydro Pump. The fire type's Flamethrower found its mark on floatzel and the force of the attack sent it crashing into a huge tree. Floatzel never got back up.

"Floatzel!"

The infernape jumped down and rushed at him. Rogers reached for another of his pokeball but the infernape is faster. The infernape knocked him down onto the ground and restrained him, preventing him from calling out more of his pokemon.

A moving mass of fire caught Rogers' attention as a man riding a rapidash appeared. The pokemon is dragging a small pile of unconscious bodies using ropes tied around its body.

Flint. The guy riding on the rapidash is Flint.

"This guy is the last one, eh? Good job, Might."

This is Flint's infernape? Now that explains why it is so strong. Still, Rogers is not entirely helpless even in his current predicament. If only he can-

"Might, knock him out before he can do anything."

That was the end of his resistance, and also the start of his punishment.

* * *

When was the last time she was forced to let any of her pokemon undergo Mega Evolution? It has been so long since she was last pushed to this extent, her spars with Volkner notwithstanding.

"Hyper Beams incoming!"

"Steely will block it! You concentrate on taking them down!"

Steely, now a Mega Steelix, moved forward in a surge of speed, something brought about by a combination of Rock Polish and Autotomize. Steely stood in the way of the rays of Hyper Beams fired by the enraged pack of wild gyarados, unafraid of what is to come.

"Wide Guard!"

Steely successfully blocked the mass of Hyper Beam that could have wiped out an entire city if they had found their target. On top of Steely's head, Molly stood in front of Jasmine and used a Protect to prevent her trainer from getting herself injured from the mass of condensed energy.

"Hurricane! And Thunder!"

The rain clouds summoned by Puddle previously started to pour fiercer than any raging storms Jasmine had ever experienced. Puddle, now a Mega Gyarados, unleashed a burst of raging wind that wrapped around a small group of gyarados before throwing them up into the sky. A column of lightning crashed down and struck Puddle's targets, taking them out for the count.

"Everyone! Thunder!"

Each of Volkner's electric types followed Puddle's example and Jasmine cannot help but look on in awe. Volkner and his team had effectively controlled the very weather itself. Puddle's control over the weather had heightened considerably after undergoing Mega Evolution, allowing him to change the weather to their advantage with a simple Rain Dance. Jasmine cannot help but marvel at the sight and at Volkner's capability as a trainer. Seeing how the skies darken and thunderclouds shooting streaks of lightning down at his foes repeatedly in quick succession is not a sight one can see every day. She doesn't even know if there are any other Electric Specialists in the world that can match him when it comes to summoning storms as easy as snapping fingers.

This is Volkner, the strongest Electric Specialist of Sinnoh.

Some of the wild gyarados decided to imitate Puddle and used their own Hurricane as well. Some of the smarter ones are aiming to disperse the thunderclouds with the attack. No way will she allow his hard work to come undone.

"Steely, stop them!"

Another Flash Cannon from Steely dispersed the winds the wild gyarados had summoned as Mety dove in and knocked them out with a Zen Headbutt. Emy used a Blizzard and froze more of these sea serpents, locking them in place for Volkner's team to strike them down with their electric type attacks.

A particularly powerful Hydro Pump crashed into Steely from an unexpected angle and knocked Jasmine off her steelix's head from the impact. Molly tried to reach out to her, but a Whirlpool engulfed her pokemon and prevented them from coming close. Jasmine let out a scream as she plummeted, closing her eyes in fear.

She reopened her eyes when she felt a strong arm wrapping around her waist before pulling her to safety. Volkner held her around her waist with an arm and pulled her closer to him with her head buried in his chest.

"Don't worry, I will protect you."

Jasmine blushed up a storm as furious as the one Puddle had summoned at Volkner's words. Does he even know what he is saying?!

Still, there are more important things to do right now.

"Twister!"

Upon her command, Steely used a Twister that spun in the opposite direction of the Whirlpool that trapped them, aiming to free themselves of their watery prison. Molly used this chance to fire a few Shadow Balls on a gyarados that had gotten too close for comfort before smashing it back to the ocean with a Play Rough.

Jasmine's pokemon emerged from the dying Whirlpool. Seeing that her trainer is alright, Steely shot Dragon Pulses at a few more gyarados and decided to charge to the front, continuing to use its unbreakable defence and her large size to shield the rest of her allies from harm. Volkner and his team picked up the pace as the skies flashed ominously and even more lightning was summoned from the heavens, wiping out more of the uncontrollable wild pokemon.

"Puddle, Hyper Beam!"

A ball of condensed energy gathered at the front of Puddle's opened jaw before he shot them at a new group of gyarados that was about to join its brethren, taking them out. The heat of the beam had also evaporated a large volume of water as they turned into steam.

"Steely, Gyro Ball!"

Steely curled up into a large ball of steel before spinning at high speed, knocking away everything in her way and forcefully scattering the hordes of wild pokemon. Volkner's electric types took advantage of the opening and fired beams of electrical attacks, systematically downing more and more of the endless swarms.

"Jas, Puddle and I are going in. It's going to be rough, so hold on tight. Puddle, Dragon Dance and Outrage! End this in one strike!"

Knowing that he is not kidding about things getting rough, Jasmine hugged Volkner tightly when Puddle flew up higher and started a Dragon Dance. Sensing the threat, a large pack of sharpedos emerged and fired a Brine in unison. Steely stood in the way of the attack and dispersed it with a swipe of her tail, buying just enough time for Puddle to dive back in. The sensation of diving down had Jasmine closing her eyes and tightening her hold over Volkner. Usually, she would have freaked out at experiencing a falling sensation as rough as this, but he is here with her.

With him around, she knows everything is going to be alright.

She can feel Volkner's hold on her tightening as well when the enraged Mega Gyarados thrashed about violently and took out the entire pack of wild sharpedos in seconds. The rest of Volkner's team pressed on and pushed the remainder of the wild gyarados population back into the deep sea, who are now starting to flee. Volkner's hand covering her eyes was her only warning to quickly close them as he barked out his next command to his team.

"Franky, Electric Terrain! Everyone else, Thunder!"

The sea in front of them exploded in a violent light that nearly blinded Jasmine. She is sure that even Sunyshore can see the light despite the distance between their current location and the city. When the light finally died down, the sea had returned to its calm state and the thunderclouds are starting to disperse.

"Guess it's over for now." Volkner commented as Puddle reverted back into a normal gyarados with a bright glow. The same goes for Steely as the effect of Mega Evolution receded. Steely floated back right next to Puddle and Jasmine gave her a reassuring smile, silently telling her loyal friend that she is fine.

"I hope so." Jasmine contributed her own opinion as she wringed out the water from her hair. The rain from the storm clouds and that Whirlpool earlier had gotten her drenched.

"Let's just go back and-" Volkner turned to face her before quickly turning back the other way, much to her confusion.

"Volk?"

"Here." Volkner took off his blue jacket without looking back and passed it in her direction, which she took on reflex. "Use this to cover yourself."

Jasmine looked down at her white sundress, which is now drenched in water. What she is wearing underneath can now be clearly seen.

She is wearing a _white_ sundress, and she is _drenched_.

She can feel herself blushing up another storm as she quickly wore the jacket she was given over her sundress, zipping it all the way up to prevent herself from exposing what she doesn't want others to see. The jacket is huge for her and covers all the way down to just below her hips. Her fingers are barely poking through the sleeves of his jacket.

"Um… I'm done." Jasmine stuttered out an embarrassed reply. "Thanks for the jacket."

Volkner turned back to her.

"You aren't injured, are you?"

"No. How about you?" Jasmine returned the question back to him as their pokemon slowly made their way back to them. The other water types that the rest of her team were facing had also scattered back into the sea after witnessing the last attack by Volkner's team. "And what happened? Why are there so many wild pokemon gathered in this manner?"

"Some poachers thought it would be a good idea to anger the wild pokemon around Sunyshore and use them to stage an attack on the city." Volkner grumbled as Jasmine stood closer by his side, holding his hand to steady herself on Puddle's head. She doesn't want to fall another time, once is enough. "I can already imagine the amount of work I have to do when I get back."

Jasmine giggled into her hand at Volkner's words. She knows just how much he loathes to do the work of a Gym Leader, even if he had never handled them as tardy as he appeared to be. Despite the fact that this heavy responsibility was forced on him, Volkner had actually taken his job seriously. It's just that he always appears to be slacking off due to how he carries himself. She knows that he does it on purpose because he found the reactions of the people around him to his lazy behaviour to be extremely amusing. Like he told her, annoying people is his daily dose of entertainment. He had confided to her once that his favourite people to troll is his head gym trainer, Kayla. Cynthia is a close second.

Jasmine let out an uncontrollable sneeze when the breeze got a little cold from where she is standing on Puddle's head.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine- _achoo_!"

Even Molly who was floating beside her gave her a reproachful stare and gently nudged Jasmine closer to Volkner. Giving an exasperated sigh at her pokemon's action, Jasmine gently patted Molly on the head to show her appreciation for the concern.

Only to slip on her feet, again.

"AHH!"

Jasmine let out a high-pitched yelp and closed her eyes, expecting herself to fall into the sea. The same sensation of an arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her up got her to slowly open her eyes once again, only to see Volkner's blue eyes staring at hers in concern.

"Um…" Jasmine can feel the onset of another blush setting in _again_ as she realised the close proximity that the two of them are in. Volkner didn't seem to notice it and pulled her closer to him instead, using his own body to block the cold wind that is blowing at them.

"Feeling better now?"

"Y-Yeah." Jasmine replied lamely. Her brain doesn't seem to be in working order right now. Case in point, she only realised she was staring at his face in a daze after he had waved his hand in front of her eyes for a few seconds.

"Jas? You alright?"

"I-I'm fine!" She squeaked out an embarrassed reply a little too loud than what was necessary. She needs to stop acting like an airhead in front of him! This is too embarrassing!

She tried to wriggle her way out of his arms discretely but his grip on her doesn't allow it. She looked up at him again, trying to convey the silent message to him to let her out of this awkward position and hopefully he gets the message. To her exasperation, he simply asked her a question when he caught her stare.

"Yes? Is there something on my face?"

Nope, he doesn't get the message.

Just when she decided to just muster the courage to pry his hands away from her, he decided to throw her the biggest curveball in her life thus far.

"Hey, I've been wanting to ask you this question for a while now. You like me, right? Like, _like_ me."

It was at that moment that every cell in her brain sputtered and died. Having her most secretive inner thoughts about him pointed out like that was not what she was expecting. No matter what she tried to do to get her brain to work again, it just won't start up. Every time she tried to force out a reply an incomprehensible stutter is all she can manage.

"I-I-I… I mean… We…"

Volkner simply continues to stare at her expectantly, which further increases the heat she can feel spreading on her face. In the end, she can only convey her feelings to him by burying her face into his chest, trying to hide it since it is getting extremely red from the embarrassment due to his sudden question. A small nod is all she can muster as confirmation to his question.

She pinched Volkner hard when he burst out laughing at her display, although she still keeps her face hidden from view.

"D-D-Don't l-laugh!"

"I can't help it. You are too cute." He said to her when she finally managed to calm herself enough to peer up at him hesitantly. Her eyes caught sight of those mesmerising blue eyes of his. She was so absorbed in it that she didn't protest when he slowly lifted her chin up with a single finger.

"May I?"

Jasmine can feel her face heating up again, but simply smiled, close her eyes, and shut the entire world out. Right now, it is just the two of them and she wants it to remain this way. Anything else can wait.

And they kissed.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**

**Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Garchomp**

**2) ****Roserade**

**3) ****Spiritomb**

**4) ****Lucario**

**5) ****Milotic**

**6) ****Gastrodon**

**7) ****Togekiss**

**8) ****Glaceon**

**9) ****Braviary**

**10) ****Eelektross**

**Kayla: Sunyshore Head Gym Trainer, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Elite Trainer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Manectric (Woofy)**

**2) ****Zebstrika (Zap)**

**3) ****Galvantula (Spinner)**

**4) ****Luxray (Star)**

**5) ****Stunfisk (Fin)**

**6) ****Alolan Golem (Gronk)**


	11. Chapter 11- A Simple Life

Nothing much had changed.

The interior of his little cottage still has the same layout as she had remembered from her last visit. She closed the door behind her, pocketing the spare key to his house in her bag. She had retrieved Bronzy and her bag from the ship that she was helping to defend earlier.

Volkner still has duties to fulfil in the aftermath of the attack, so once he had confirmed that she still has the spare key to his house that he had given to her years before, he suggested for her to go to his house to wash up and rest. He has no idea how long he will take to clean up the mess and he looked very apologetic about it, but she brushed his concerns away. She understands. They are both Gym Leaders. Things like this do happen from time to time.

She went straight to the guest room where she will be staying for the foreseeable future and put her bag down in the corner of the room. Deciding that she should really change out of her still dripping-wet sundress, she headed to the bathroom to bathe, also taking off the oversized blue jacket that he had given her to cover herself.

She got herself washed up and changed in less than fifteen minutes, picked up her dirty laundry and his jacket, and decided that she might as well wash them while waiting for Volkner to finish whatever he is supposed to do as a Gym Leader. She saw a small pile of dirty clothes in the laundry basket in his house on her way to the washing machine. After staring at it for a few seconds, she took it with her. She might as well help her boyfriend to wash it to kill some time.

The thought of it still makes her blush. _Her boyfriend_. They are actually now in a relationship, something that she had only dared to dream of in her wildest dreams before this.

A dream that came true. She is glad that they both reciprocated the feelings they have for each other.

Shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of the blush on her face, she dumped the dirty clothes into the washing machine. What she wasn't expecting was for the washing machine to actually jump at her and make a ghostly shriek, causing her to scream as well.

"Prime! Stop it!"

The rotom only cackled as she heaved out a sigh. She has no idea when Prime had sneaked back into the house. Volkner's rotom just loves to scare the living daylights out of people whenever it can. The rotom exited the washing machine and zipped around the house in its plasma form, possessing any electrical appliances it can see in its excitement while laughing in that ghostly cackle, happy that its latest prank was a success.

With Prime distracted and out of the washing machine, Jasmine took this chance to start the washing machine and then proceed to rest on the couch in the living room. What should she do while she waits for him? Train? Or rest? She has a feeling that she won't be seeing him again until it's pretty late, given the scale of the attack which they had just thwarted. Does he even have three regular meals a day?

"Jarvis? Do you know when Volkner is coming back?"

The screen of the TV in front of her displayed a big 'NO' before returning to its usual pitch-black state. Whatever Volkner is handling, it is probably something troublesome.

A chittering sound got her attention as Scrat entered the house through the window. The pachirisu did a leap before flying into the air and landed next to her, its cheeks bulging and full with what she presumes is the berries that the little electric type had found on its way here.

"You better not be hiding berries in Volk's room again, Scrat. You know he doesn't like it."

The pachirisu merely gave her a mischievous look before he scampered off into Volkner's room. Volkner must have sent Scrat back to keep her company, knowing that time tends to pass faster when dealing with Scrat's antics.

Scrat emerged from the room minutes later, its cheeks emptied of the berries it was carrying in its mouth earlier.

"Scrat." Jasmine sighed at the knowledge of what the rodent just did. "You know Volkner will be angry at you if he found that you hid another berry in his shoes or in his cupboard again."

The electric type answered her by flying circles around the living room with Magnet Rise, obviously unbothered by his trainer's anger if he got found out.

With an exasperated sigh, Jasmine moved herself from the comfortable position on the couch and entered Volkner's room. With the exception of his work desk which is strewn with piles of paper documenting who-knows-what, it is surprisingly neat for a guy. Even her own room isn't as tidy as his.

"Alright, time to find those berries you had hidden." Jasmine said with her hands on her hips as she glanced to the rodent beside her. She has nothing better to do anyway, might as well spend it playing find-the-berries with the bratty pachirisu.

* * *

"How did you managed to hide… _twenty-two, twenty-three…twenty-four_. Twenty-four berries in Volk's room?" Jasmine asked in mild confusion as she counted the number of berries she laid out on the floor. How did Scrat even bring in such a large number of berries with that small mouth of his? Scrat has a talent in hiding small objects, that she has to admit. You would have thought that it is easier to find hidden berries in such a neat room but Scrat has a knack in finding the weirdest of places to hide things. In the pillow, balancing on the blades of the ceiling fan in the room, and so on. He is good at hiding things in plain sight.

Scrat merely ducked into a small narrow gap in between the desk and the cupboard before emerging with a Rawst berry.

"Twenty-five berries then." She sighed in half exasperation and fondness. At least they had managed to pass one and a half hours trying to look for the berries that Scrat had hidden in Volkner's room. He had always complained to her about Scrat's habits and how he always had to get rid of the berry juice clinging onto his feet whenever he accidentally stepped on one that Scrat had purposely hidden just so he can step on it. According to her boyfriend, Scrat does it just to annoy him. No matter what he did, Scrat's mischievous behaviour just cannot be curbed.

She took a look on the clock hanging on the wall of his room. It will be dinner time soon and there is still no telling when he will be back. Had he eaten?

Knowing him, probably not.

With her mind made up, she grabbed her purse and her pokeballs before motioning for Scrat to follow. She can feel something hiding within her shadows, and she instinctively knew that Prime must be tagging along as well.

She released Molly, Amphy, and Lucy to accompany her the moment she locked the door of his house. Her steel types greeted her enthusiastically and she returned the greeting. Without delay, she headed for the marketplace, which is already back to its usual hustle and bustle.

Volkner must be working really hard for the marketplace to be able to resume its normal activities so soon after the attack.

If there is a perk when travelling to foreign land, it is that she can walk around freely without people stopping to greet her after walking past every street like what happens to her in Olivine. Being a public figure has its own inconveniences. She is always a little too self-conscious whenever she walks around in her own hometown because of her own status, but none of that applies here since most people in Sunyshore don't know who she is.

It is a refreshing experience.

She quickly picked out the fresh produce on sale with the small group of pokemon beside her. The iconic Sunyshore marketplace has _everything_. You name it, they have it. It's an inevitable outcome as Sunyshore houses one of the most important ports in Sinnoh, and with that a whole assortment of goods going in and out of the city. With Volkner as their guardian, no one will be able to harm Sunyshore no matter how hard they tried. Because of that, the city's economy had grown exponentially.

"Jasmine? That you?"

The call of her name got her to turn her head to the direction of the voice. A familiar figure with red afro hair walked past the crowd and got to her within seconds.

"Flint?"

Flint gave her a big grin as his flareon, Flare, trotted beside him, head cocked to one side as it appraised her. From what Volkner had told her years back, Flint and Volkner both got Flare and Jo on the same day from the same place when they happened to meet each other on their Sinnoh gym circuit in Canalave. Somehow, they trouble prone duo stumbled onto a pokemon smuggling ring and the two boys, only Intermediate trainers back then, decimated the smuggling ring together on their own. They found two eevees among the smuggled pokemon, which somehow got attached to the both of them. The Gym Leader of Canalave, Byron, made his way to the scene as soon as he got wind of it. Upon seeing how attached the eevees are to them, he persuaded the two young boys to keep it on their team, assuring them that he will handle any administrative matters should they arise.

That was how Volkner got Jo and Flint got Flare.

"Volk told me that you arrived. Thanks for helping to save the city, by the way. Who knows what might have happened if you weren't there."

"It's nothing." Jasmine smiled back at Volkner's best friend. "Not that I am unhappy to see you, but why are you here?"

"Well, an attack of such a large scale just happened out of the blue. Someone has to do something, right?" Flint gave a shrug. "Bertha and Cynthia are here too to help Volk with the clean-up although they should be leaving by tomorrow. The rest of the Gym Leaders are still keeping a close eye on their cities while Aaron and Lucian are now on the hunt."

Oh, so Flint is here to help.

"Anyway, there's nothing to worry about. Everything should be back to normal by tomorrow." Flint gave a flippant wave of his hand. "I will be taking over Volk as the temporary Gym Leader for a short while, so don't worry too much and enjoy your vacation with Volk."

Jasmine nearly choked on air.

"V-Vacation?!"

"What? You two are together, right? Or are you telling me that the groceries in the basket isn't for Volk? I can see all his favourite food in there. You are obviously planning to cook him something for dinner."

She looked down at the basket in her hand. Flint wasn't wrong, she was planning to cook so that Volkner has something to eat when he gets back. But…

"Vacation?"

"Eh? He didn't tell you? His application for leave had finally been approved after so long and he is taking a short break. This attack is a little untimely, but it shouldn't affect your little holiday much. However, Sunyshore cannot be without a Gym Leader for such a long time, so I will be taking Volk's place while the both of you are enjoying yourselves."

She blinked. Volkner had not told her anything. She was of the impression that her visit is just a simple visit, and that she will be staying in Sunyshore for the entire duration while he carries on with his usual duties as the city's Gym Leader. Volkner did not have a single vacation in the past five years he had served as Sunyshore's Gym Leader, he is just that busy. Even the rare times he had visited her in Johto previously was because he was in Johto on official business as Sinnoh's representative. He couldn't stay long.

"Uh, oops?" Flint had obviously caught on upon spotting the expression on her face. If Volkner had not told her anything, he had probably wanted it to be a surprise. "Uh… forget anything I said! Haha…" He gave a nervous laugh before taking a few subtle steps backwards. "I…will be going now, criminals to catch, order to restore, damage to assess, you know the drill. Bye!"

And with that, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist disappeared into the crowd.

Jasmine can only shake her head. Volkner does love his surprises, but sometimes she wishes that he will not keep popping surprises one after the other. There is a limit to how many surprises she can take in a single day.

Still, it does not stop the warm feeling from welling in her chest. _A vacation_. They can finally have a vacation. Just the two of them.

She is already looking forward to it.

* * *

The sound of the door opening got her head turning to it. Volkner entered with drooping eyes and his feet dragging across the floor, looking extremely tired by whatever he was doing.

"Oh, Jas." He spotted her immediately. "Uh, sorry for being late. I know today is kinda special since we just confirmed our relationship and all…"

"It's fine." She said with a laugh at how he tries to explain himself. Jo and Squeaky, which was beside him when he entered, dashed to her side the moment they saw her. She indulged them when they nuzzled against her and demand affectionate pats on the head. "I am a Gym Leader too. I know how busy it can be sometimes. Have you eaten?"

"No." He admitted. "I was thinking of- _wait_." He sniffed the air and his head gradually shifted to where the dining table is.

"You _cooked_?!"

"I had time to spare, so why not?"

Volkner squinted his eyes and shifted his face closer to the food she cooked.

"No offence, Jas. The last time I ate the things you cooked, I had food poisoning that lasted a week."

"That was like, six years ago!"

He shrivelled a little upon spotting the glare she casted on him and meekly raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. She stood up and got to his back excitedly, pushing him to the table and forced him to sit on the chair.

"Come on, try it!"

With her excited encouragement, Volkner can only sit himself down and began to eat the dishes she cooked for him. She looked at his face closely, trying to see his response.

"How is it?"

"Delicious!" He clapped his hands once with a big smile plastered on his face. "See? I finished everything!"

"It was really delicious?" She asked hopefully.

"Really." He nodded in all seriousness.

Even when Volkner excused himself to go get himself washed up and changed, she cannot help but have some lingering doubt in her mind. She knew she was a bad cook when they first met about six years ago, but she had been learning in her scant free time how to cook a proper decent meal. Something at the back of her mind is telling her that Volkner was lying.

She peered closely at the leftover spaghetti sauce, bringing her face close to the plate. Scrat, Squeaky, and Jo imitated her action. The three electric types all scrunched up their noses the moment their faces were close enough and immediately bolted.

Uh oh.

She took a spoon, scooped up some of the leftover sauce and put it in her mouth, only to almost puke it out.

_How had Volkner managed to finish everything she cooked for him?!_

That idiot.

She turned to the direction of the bathroom. The door is closed, but when she placed her ear on the door, she can still make out a faint gagging sound if she listened hard enough.

She sighed once more, a gesture that she has been doing a lot lately. He should have just told her the truth and not finished everything. A talented trainer she may be, but a cook she is not. Cooking is something that she never managed to get a hang of no matter how hard she tried.

Great, first day since their relationship became official and she managed to get her boyfriend sick.

* * *

"Are you sure you are ok?"

"Yeah… I think so…" Volkner said weakly as he lay face down on his bed, letting out a groan. He had somehow managed to bathe and get himself changed into clean clothes even after that traumatic experience. "It's… not that bad, really."

"You idiot." She muttered as she handed him a glass of warm water which he took with shaking hands after he flipped himself over. "Just don't eat it if it's that bad!"

"But you were the one who cooked it."

"Volk…"

"I'm fine, really." He sat upright and tried his best to look fine, but there's no hiding how pale his face is. After he had finished the meal she cooked for him, for the last half an hour he had been puking non-stop, how will he be fine after that?

Myst teleported himself in with takeout in hand.

_'I believe this is the porridge that Mistress had ordered. I had already handed the money to the deliveryman.'_

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Myst. Just leave it there. You guys help yourselves to the pokemon food, alright? I am kind of… incapacitated right now."

_'Don't worry about us. Have a good rest, Master.'_

Myst disappeared in a crackle of psychic energy after their shared telepathic conversation, leaving the two of them alone.

"I'm really bad at taking care of others, am I?"

"I guess cooking is just really not your strength." Volkner's words got her to look up again. "But hey, that's why you have me. You know my cooking skills are legendary."

She let out a laugh at those words because it's true that Volkner is undoubtedly the better cook between the two of them. He never fails to cheer her up.

She took a spoon and scooped up some porridge with it. Seeing as it is still steaming hot, she blew at it a few times to cool it before gesturing for him to open his mouth.

"Huh, I don't mind being bedridden again if it means that you will feed me every day."

"Just keep quiet and eat it." She glared at him although she can feel her face flushing red again. Why does it always feel like she is the adult in their relationship saddled with an overgrown child?

He took a mouthful of the porridge and she ate a bite as well from the same bowl. They kept taking turns as they both slowly ate their dinner in this manner.

"Feels like Kanto all over again, doesn't it? Only that it is the other way around this time. Remember the time you fell sick after being stuck in the rain for too long? The time when we were at Lavender?"

She nodded her head absentmindedly. Their trip to Kanto felt so long ago. It has been close to six years since their trip ended. She remembered their trip to Lavender. Back then, she was the one too sick to even lift a finger and he was the one taking care of her. He was the one feeding her food in this exact same way when her fever was running high and she became a little delirious as a result.

"What do you say to another trip? Just the two of us."

"I already packed my stuffs." She said with a gleam in her eyes. "Flint had already let it slip when we bumped into each other earlier this afternoon."

"Stupid afro head." Volkner had a slight scowl on his face when he digested the news. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"If it means anything, I was surprised at the news when he blurted it out. I assume we are leaving tomorrow morning?"

"That was the plan. Anywhere in particular you want to go?"

"Not really." She said with a finger to her chin. "But don't you have things to do after an attack on your city? I wasn't expecting you to be able to leave the city just like that."

"There was no damage done since we responded quickly enough. It's not like we can do anything else other than sitting and twiddling our thumbs while waiting for Aaron and Lucian to come back with results." Volkner waved her concerns away. "Now that we have a name to attach the mysterious organisation with, it should be easier for Aaron and Lucian to track them down. They are like Johto's equivalent of Team Rocket in Sinnoh, such a big organisation cannot possibly hide themselves from our search totally. There are bound to be tracks left behind."

"Team Galactic, right?"

"Yeah. Stupid name, if you ask me."

"Just… be careful when you are dealing with them."

"I will."

They spent their night in this manner, with her lying by his side as they both recounted their journey to Kanto many years ago, laughing at some of the stupid and embarrassing things that they did. Unlike some of her peers, this is all she needs. She is a simple girl. She doesn't need to be showered with gifts and pretty words. She doesn't need to be pampered with luxurious treatments.

All she asks for is for someone who is able to understand her and is able to make time for her when she really needs it, no matter how busy he may be.

Like him, all she wants is a simple life with a little adventure.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the lack of updates recently. For those of you who didn't know, I had been busy with school and the fact that my grades are in mortal danger isn't exactly helping with my situation. My main focus is now on my studies. I only write chapters when I have the free time, usually on Sundays, and it is after many weeks that I managed to get this chapter published.**

**For those of you who did not follow my other pokemon story, I Just Want To Travel The World, I have been considering the prospect of combining both stories into a single universe due to the large number of similarities in the worlds of both stories. Meaning, Volkner will meet Vel and Vel will meet Volkner. Of course, like I had told the readers in IJWTTTW, TSOS will still be Volkner's story while IJWTTTW will still be Velda's story. Just think of it as reading a story through their respective perspectives. If you are not a fan of IJWTTTW for whatever reasons, that is fine as well. My plan is that while both stories can be combined into one universe, they can also be read individually so that readers that are only fans of one of the two stories will not be short-changed. Most IJWTTTW readers seemed to be receptive of the idea so far, so I want to get some opinions on this side. I have no idea how many of you guys actually are a fan of both, but the vibe I am getting is that most readers of IJWTTTW read TSOS and vice versa, which is one factor why I am considering something like this in the first place. **

**Now, this is something that I had only thought about recently after I posted the latest chapter of IJWTTTW. When I thought about it further, I actually thought it might be a great idea to write a story of a series of reincarnated ocs, one for each region (up to Alola), and have each story to be linked in some way to each other. Kind of like how Disney created the MCU for Marvel. I do have some ideas, and this will be a very ambitious project if I ever decide to pursue it. It may or may not ruin all the hard work I put into TSOS and IJWTTTW thus far, but somehow I think it will work. I never saw anyone attempting something like that before and it is why I am very tempted to try it out. I do have a few pokemon stories/ideas that I had scrapped even before I wrote TSOS, and I feel that they can fit into the pokemon universe that I am building up pretty well. That also means that I can readily publish new pokemon stories after doing several minor edits if I decide to go about doing this. **

**Maybe I am a little too ambitious, but currently I am more inclined to the idea of writing a total of seven pokemon stories, each happening in the same pokemon universe I had built up for IJWTTTW and TSOS and each having an mc who is a reincarnated oc. Wouldn't that be interesting? Of course, updates will probably be slow until this semester is over. I just want to get the opinions from the readers who read TSOS but not IJWTTTW, whether they are willing to accept the change in the direction TSOS is heading towards. I know I cannot please everyone, but I will try.**

**In any case, let me know what you think about the arrangements. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**


	12. Chapter 12- Lunar Duo

"You sure you want to come here?"

"Of course! It has one of the biggest libraries in the world! And look!"

Jasmine pointed excitedly to the scenery in front of them. The big blue sea is right in front of their eyes. Like Sunyshore, Canalave also houses a port, but it is not as large as the one in Sunyshore. Canalave's port is important to Sinnoh as it is the only viable means of transport to ship large amount of goods between east and west Sinnoh without going through the hazardous mountain range of Mt Coronet. The Canalave port and Sunyshore port are the main points of contact when it comes to shipment of goods from one end of Sinnoh to another. Canalave port do receive shipments from other regions from time to time, but the sea route to Canalave from outside Sinnoh is perilous. Most ships from the other regions will usually dock at Sunyshore port rather than Canalave as the sea route to Sunyshore is a lot safer to travel on, hence the smaller size for Canalave port.

Feeling touristy, Jasmine dragged her lazy boyfriend along to help take some pictures together to commemorate their long-awaited vacation. She knows she is being uncharacteristically chatty and is talking non-stop, but she cannot help it. It is their long-awaited vacation. She does not exhibit such behaviour to anyone else anyway. Her excited and chatty side is only something that the people closest to her is privy to.

Once she is satisfied with the pictures that they had taken, she then dragged him to the Canalave library, one of the oldest and biggest libraries in the world. Volkner had wanted to bring her to an island at the northeast of Sinnoh for their vacation, a luxurious place which people refer to as the Resort Area. However, she insisted on making a detour to Canalave first before heading to the Resort Area.

How can she miss an opportunity to visit a library as ancient as Canalave's?

They had visited Byron earlier, a rugged but jovial man with a booming laughter to match. She and Byron had a friendly spar as fellow Steel Specialists. Although there wasn't a clear winner since none of them are going all out, she felt that she had learnt a lot from the elder.

The battle also reaffirmed her belief that she still has a long way to go if she wants to be the strongest Steel Specialist in the world. She may be the strongest Steel Specialist in Johto, but she is still far from being the strongest Steel Specialist in the world.

The unique smell of old, dusty books assaulted their noses the moment they entered the building. It got her excited.

"Calm down, Jas. You behave as if you are on a sugar high."

Jasmine half-heartedly moved to step on his toes for the comment, which she missed since he wisely shifted his foot away at the last second. Ignoring her nonsensical boyfriend, she went to look at the shelves of books on display.

It is majestic.

The shelves are so large and some of them towered above her, nearly reaching the tall ceilings of the building. The books at the top can only be accessed by climbing the wooden ladders provided. Some of the books are old, being passed down and carefully preserved in this library from the time they found their way in here.

Volkner had already picked out a book and sat down in a nearby corner, reserving a seat for her. From the title of the book, she can see that he is reading up on some new research recently conducted about electric types.

She can't help but smile at the sight. That's the Volkner she knew, the Volkner that is never satisfied in staying stagnant and is always striving to improve himself, devouring any knowledge he come across. It is how he managed to become as strong as he is today. However, she knew that this part of him is only limited to anything related to pokemon training. If it were anything else, Volkner would probably doze off after reading the first paragraph.

She picked out a few books on Sinnoh's myths and its history before returning to his side, the books she chose are ancient books that cannot be found anywhere else in the world but here. She sat down beside him and leaned against his shoulder for support, idly noting that he took out his jacket and used it to cover her in case she found the air-conditioning in the building to be too cold for her taste.

That action alone made her heart feel sweet and warm.

Some people may find it boring to spend an entire day reading in the library, but she feels that it is a great start to their vacation.

* * *

"We can always come back another day, Jas."

"B-But…" She gave another longing look at the Canalave library as they both depart, with him pulling her along by her hand. Somehow, it didn't occur to her that some books cannot be loaned and taken away from the building due to how old they are. Coincidentally, these are the books that she has a great interest in.

She hasn't finished reading them yet!

"It's getting late. Anything you want to eat?"

She took a brief look at the setting sun that looks as if it is about to dip into the vast sea. Now that Volkner mentioned it, she _is_ getting a little famished.

They both got themselves a quick bite before deciding to take a stroll near the iconic drawbridge of Canalave, taking in the sights of the glittering stars in the dark night sky as they both held hands, glad that they finally have time to spend with each other.

"The stars tonight are pretty, aren't they?"

"Not as pretty as you."

She blushed a little in embarrassment but refrained from stepping on his toes. He is trying to get a reaction out of her and she will not give him the satisfaction. Childish? She knows, but that's how they had been interacting with each other since they first know each other. In front of each other, they both behave like overgrown children. He brings out the childish and playful side of her even without her realising it.

"Huh, you didn't blush as much as I thought you would. Congrats, Jas. You improved. The last time I said something like that, I swear that steam almost came out of your ears."

"Stop it~" She half-whined in a plea for him to stop his merciless teasing. The only response she got was his laughter.

Their flirting with each other stopped when they heard a pained scream from somewhere. The both of them exchanged concerned looks before coming to the same decision instantly.

Someone needs help.

The two of them ran in the direction of the scream and found a small isolated house at the edge of the city where the scream originated. The scream is still ongoing.

"Hey! You alright in there?!" Volkner shouted as he pounded on the door, Franky had already been released and is standing by his side.

Jasmine have no doubts that Volkner would break the door down if it wasn't for a harried looking middle-aged man answering the door in the nick of time. His jaws dropped upon spotting Volkner.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I? Are you Volkner?"

"The one and only." Volkner said curtly. "What's going on?"

"My son." The man said with a look of worry on his face. "This hasn't happened before."

Without delay, the man led the two of them into a room with the walls painted a light blue in colour and numerous pokemon dolls placed on the shelves fitted on the wall. It is obvious that this room belongs to those of a child at first glance. A boy, probably about five years of age, is thrashing about violently in his sleep as a middle-aged woman, presumably the boy's mother, is kneeling by the bed worriedly, trying to comfort the boy but to no avail.

"I…I have no idea what is going on. This is definitely not natural, but we have no idea how to help! We cannot wake our son up no matter what we do!" The man said worriedly as he shifted in agitation at being helpless to ease his child's condition.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Our boy complained of having nightmares last night before I left for work this morning. We didn't think much of it, because everyone had nightmares, right? B-But this…"

Volkner has an equally worried look on his face and he glanced back at her, silently asking her for her input. She shook her head. She has no idea what is able to cause this phenomenon. If anything, the only thing that they can agree on is that this is definitely not normal.

"Do you mind if my electivire gives your son a light zap? The voltage won't be anything harmful, I promise."

"As long as you can get him to wake up."

"Franky, see if you can wake him up."

A small weak arc of electricity zapped the boy, courtesy of Franky. The boy stopped thrashing for a while, but the thrashing resumed after a few seconds.

"Dar… it's watching me! IT'S WATCHING ME! Help! HELP! DAD! MUM! HELP!"

The boy's parents immediately went to the boy's side in an attempt to calm him down, hoping that their words can get to their son in his sleep. Jasmine's heart clenched when she witnessed the sight. She wants to help the boy, but she has no idea how to do so.

"Must be the work of a pokemon, but which one?" She heard Volkner talking to himself in a low voice as he paced about in the room in a frustrated manner. He stopped abruptly when he walked past the opened window.

"Volk?" She asked cautiously and walked up to him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Is tonight supposed to be a new moon?"

She looked out towards the window. Like he said, there is no moon in sight today. It is just the dark night sky littered with glittering stars.

"I…I have no idea, Volk."

"Jarvis?" Volk directed his question to the poketch on his wrist, which beeped before displaying the answer Volkner needed.

"A new moon today, huh? It must be _that_ pokemon. It only appears during a new moon because its power is at its strongest then."

A pokemon is the cause of this boy's nightmare? One so bad that he couldn't wake up from? What pokemon could it be?

"If it is a pokemon that is the cause of my son's nightmare, then you can help, right?" The mother of the child pleaded with tears streaming down her face. "Please! We beg of you! Save our son! He… He is the only child we have! Please!"

"We will save him, don't worry." Jasmine knelt down beside the woman and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. This is not the kind of thing that they are expecting to encounter on a vacation, but she cannot possibly ignore their plea for help. She knows Volkner feels the same way too even if he is obviously not very pleased at the sudden turn of events.

They are supposed to be on vacation.

"You have an idea?" She asked him the moment they exited the house.

"Yeah, I think I know what the cause of the boy's nightmare is and I think I know how to wake him up. We need to first find Byron though, if anyone knows how to properly deal with this, it's him. We Sinnoh Gym Leaders are each given a unique responsibility when it comes to our own individual cities and the boy's case is definitely one that is under his jurisdiction. I have a feeling the boy is not the only one with nightmares. If my hunch is right, there are probably a few more people inflicted with nightmares although none of their case is as bad as the boy's because of his house's location being relatively closer to that island. We would have heard a lot more screams otherwise."

"What kind of pokemon is it? Just what pokemon is so strong that it is able to inflict a nightmare so bad that the boy cannot wake up from?"

Volkner's expression turned grim.

"A mythical pokemon. One of the Lunar Duo in Sinnoh's legends."

Jasmine can feel her breath hitch a little.

"Y-You mean…"

"Darkrai."

* * *

"Another case, huh?" Byron said as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "This is the fifteenth case I received tonight. My phone has been ringing non-stop ever since the sun had set and at this rate, more people will get affected by this nightmare."

"The last time something like this happened was around fifty years ago, right?"

"Precisely. No one is expecting for darkrai's powers to come and cause troubles again. We need to put a stop to this as soon as possible before more people got caught up in the nightmares. I guess it's time for me to go give cresselia another visit-"

**RIIIINNNGG!**

"Damn it." Byron gave another sigh as he moved to pick up the phone call, sending Volkner and Jasmine an apologetic look.

"Yes, Byron speaking… Yes, I'm on it… Yes, this is the twenty-second time you guys have called me… Yes, I know darkrai is most likely the culprit behind this phenomenon like what the legends say. Anything else? No? Then I am on my way to get the Lunar Wing from cresselia to wake up the entire city. **_Stop_** bothering me already so that I can go out and do my job!"

Byron slammed the phone on his desk shut the moment the call ended.

"Stupid SPF. Don't they know that _one_ call is enough?"

"Somehow, I'm glad that I'm not the Gym Leader of Canalave." Volkner said in amusement, which earned him a scowl from Byron in return.

"Whatever you say, lazyass. So, are you guys helping?"

"Why else are we here?"

"Good, then let's-"

**RRRIIIINNNNNGGG!**

"GAH!" Byron threw up his hands in exasperation before he stomped over to the phone and swiftly unplugged the telephone line, shutting the phone up. "How can they expect me to work on helping the city if they keep spamming calls?!"

"Look on the bright side, the number of phone calls you received shows that you are loved by the people here."

"What people? Most of the calls are from the SPF! Like you don't receive spam calls from the SPF whenever your city is in danger!"

"I just have Jarvis reroute the calls to somewhere else. Saved me a lot of headaches."

Both Byron and Jasmine gave him incredulous looks at the statement.

"What?" Volkner got a little defensive at the looks sent his way. "If it works, it works. Right?"

"Whatever." Byron swiped his hand across his face tiredly. "Look, I have been guarding the islands for decades. Usually, just giving cresselia a visit and ask it for the Lunar Wing to help us is enough. Cresselia and I are old pals, so I'm the most suited candidate to go to Fullmoon Island and give it a visit since it knows who I am. But darkrai's powers suddenly fluctuating out of control on this magnitude after a long period of peace is very unusual too. So, if it isn't too much trouble, I would like the both of you to check on Newmoon Island and see if there is anything disturbing darkrai. Is that fine by you guys?"

"Don't worry, Byron. Volk and I can handle this." Jasmine said in a sweet smile.

"Sorry to rope you guys into this mess when you two are supposed to be on holiday." Byron said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head with a hand. "But the faster we finish this, the faster we can all go to sleep, yeah? It's already kind of late."

"Sounds good." Volkner said with a yawn before giving a lazy stretch. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

"See that island on the left? That's Fullmoon Island. The one on the right is Newmoon Island. Remember, get on the island, check that everything is alright, then get the hell out of there. Trust me, you two won't want to be on the top of darkrai's blacklist. That pokemon can be even more vengeful than a ghost."

"Got it, old man."

"I will have you know that I am still young." Byron scoffed from where he is sitting on the back of his skarmory while Jasmine and Volkner are hitching a ride on Simba's back, who is flying through the skies with Magnet Rise. "Anyway, this is where we split. See you."

With that, the Gym Leader of Canalave dove down towards Fullmoon Island with his skarmory. They landed silently at the edge of the island since the middle is heavily forested. It will be hard even for his skarmory to break through the dense foliage without destroying it.

With his bastiodon and skarmory by his side, he strode through the path which will lead him to cresselia. Cresselia and him are familiar with each other as he gave the legendary pokemon regular visits to check that it is alright, which is also part of his duties as Canalave's Gym Leader. Darkrai doesn't welcome his presence whenever it appears during a new moon, or anyone's presence in general, so Byron left it undisturbed as long as it doesn't disturb the city. Cresselia is a kind-hearted legendary pokemon who seems to enjoy his company and they hit it off pretty well. Still, his sixth sense has been tingling nonstop ever since the sun had set. Something is amiss.

He found out what was missing when he reached the centre of the island. The lunar pokemon itself is missing. A sassy part of his brain suggested to him that maybe it went for a toilet break. Even legendary pokemon have to answer nature's call, right?

The rational part of his brain says that it is unlikely, given the obvious signs of a recent battle having taken place here. The trees around the clearing were crushed by obvious usages of psychic powers. The ground itself had obviously been upturned.

Cresselia was battling something, or someone. This is overall bad news.

A flash of psychic powers in the distance got him and his pokemon running towards the disturbance. He released his entire team as they ran beside him. He is the Gym Leader of Canalave, and it is his duty to ensure that the two powerful pokemon that made their respective homes at the north of his city remains undisturbed.

He will not allow them to fall into the wrong hands. Calamities will befall Sinnoh if the powers of the Lunar Duo are being misused by the wrong people. Protecting the Lunar Duo is his responsibility as Canalave's Gym Leader, just as each of his colleagues all have their own responsibilities for any known mythicals or legendaries taking residence near their respective cities.

The safety of their region's mythicals and legendaries are paramount to their region's security. They Gym Leaders are the protectors of their region's mythical and legendaries and they will guard them with their lives. They all swore upon it the moment they each became Gym Leaders.

Byron burst into another clearing and saw the lunar pokemon having a fierce battle with a large group of dark types being commanded by a group of people wearing outfits that resemble spacesuits. And why do all of them have the same green hair? Is that some new fashion statement that he doesn't know about?

"Flash Cannon!"

A pulse of condensed energy from his aggron separated the dark types away from cresselia, who took the opportunity to pull the distance and levitate itself beside Byron.

"Sorry for being late. Not too badly hurt, are you?"

Cresselia hummed out a reply before using Moonlight to heal itself. Cresselia and him had met each other many times before, when Byron was doing his duty as Canalave's Gym Leader and conducted regular checks on the islands to ensure that everything is alright. There is a need to ensure that no suicidal and idiotic trainers tried to catch the legendary pokemon for themselves. Public access to Fullmoon and Newmoon Island are blocked off and erased from public records for a very good reason. Most people won't even know where these islands are located and the Sinnoh League wants it to remain this way. Assuming that someone managed to catch cresselia somehow, such a move will also have dire consequences on the region due to the power cresselia wields. Darkrai is the same, even if it is not classified by the League as a legendary pokemon but rather a mythical pokemon, just a small step down from the status of legendary. Still, considering how powerful darkrai is, any sane person would prefer for the bringer of nightmares to roam free and live quietly undisturbed than to fall into the wrong hands.

Like the spacesuit wearing weirdos he is facing right now. _Who_ the hell are they? They are lucky that cresselia is a gentle pokemon. It was obvious to him that cresselia was trying its best to tone down its attacks to not accidentally kill them. From the looks of it, the spacesuit wearing freaks were taking advantage of cresselia's kindness in an attempt to defeat it and acquire it for themselves.

Assholes.

"Oi, I'm only saying this once. Who are you and what do you want with cresselia? This is your last chance to get your asses off this island."

"Byron of Canalave." One of the grunts spoke in a robotic manner that gives even him goosebumps. Is this guy even human? Who even speaks like this? "Step aside and hand cresselia over to us. We won't repeat our demands twice."

Byron slammed the tip of his shovel on the ground, cracking the dirt beneath him. His eyes narrowed.

"And if I don't?"

"Then you will die here."

"I guess we both have reached a consensus." Byron's team growled out a warning to the space freaks in front of them the moment their trainer's voice took on an unfriendly tone. "Cresselia may not have wanted to hurt you, but **_I_** am not as nice. A fight is what you want, eh?"

"If it means getting to cresselia, yes."

The dark types that gathered around the group of people wearing spacesuits slowly spread themselves out to surround Byron and his team with cresselia in it. Not that Byron cared, they won't be able to get past his team. Cresselia will be safe with him. The lunar pokemon could have took the space freaks down by itself in a jiffy, but it is too kind for its own good to be doing something so violent.

In that case, he will do the dirty job for cresselia.

Byron allowed a predatory smirk to cross his face, one that is mimicked by his pokemon. Finally, it has been a long while since he and his team is able to let loose.

"Then a fight is what you get."

* * *

This is not what he was expecting when he decided to investigate the disturbances on Newmoon Island.

As the newly appointed Deputy Head of Security of the SPF, Riley Slyde had rushed to Canalave at the first mention of brewing trouble. After some digging, it became obvious to him that this is darkrai's work. Byron was being held up by the numerous calls flooding his phone and he had to do something as a public figure to pacify the people before going on his own investigation, so Riley avoided contacting the Gym Leader since he was obviously so busy. Thus, Riley headed straight for Newmoon Island, hoping to resolve this issue by himself as soon as possible before everything got worse. For security purposes, the League wants to keep the location of darkrai's residence a secret, thus only a handful of people with a high level of security clearance are allowed to even know where the elusive Newmoon Island really is. Riley is on his own until more trainers with the same or even higher level of clearance arrives to help him.

What he wasn't expecting is for him to encounter an organised crime on such a large scale.

_At least_ thirty trainers wearing the same spacesuits and the same shade of green hair, obviously dyed, assaulted him while _another_ group of about the same number went to confront the mythical pokemon, darkrai. Riley was immediately forced to be on the defensive due to the number of pokemon he and his team were facing. Not only were there many of them, the pokemon commanded by the trainers in spacesuits were well-trained too and definitely specifically trained to confront darkrai. Trying to put them down is a troublesome task. His fight with the spacesuit freaks is taking too long for his liking. He cannot assist darkrai if he continues to get bog down in his skirmish with them.

Riley doesn't know how long darkrai had been battling even before he came here, but at this rate, darkrai might really be captured by these villains. Mythical pokemon or not, all the criminals need to do is to wear it down until it is too tired to resist capture. There are just too many pokemon swarming at them.

Darkrai still looks it is able to go at it for another three days and three nights without rest with how easily it is flinging its opposition into the nearby trees, but it is obvious to Riley that it is slowly exhausting itself due to the large number of foes it is facing. It is just a matter of time.

A Night Slash from his absol cleared a path for him and his team. His lucario fired an overpowered Aura Sphere, taking out a group of bug types hiding in a dark corner. Using this momentary distraction, darkrai put its clawed hands together and forms a pitch-black sphere of energy in between its hands before firing it at a large group of hostile pokemon. The sphere enveloped the group of pokemon briefly before disappearing. However, the affected pokemon are now asleep and twitching uncomfortably, as if experiencing a nightmare.

_What move was that?_

Thankfully, darkrai is sane enough to register Riley as an ally as they worked together to fend off their attackers, whose numbers never seem to diminish. Their combined efforts were working, until a sudden explosion tore the ground beneath them and sent Riley flying backwards. He would have gotten himself seriously injured if his metagross didn't catch him in time with his psychic powers.

However, that explosion was enough for the unknown group of criminals to deploy their machinery. Four drone-like robots flew out from nowhere and surrounded darkrai from four different angles. They shot out a beam of energy at darkrai, who screamed in pain at the contact. It tried to destroy the drones, but any attempt was thwarted by the criminals' large group of pokemon.

Whatever that beam of energy is, it is quickly wearing darkrai down. Darkrai is rapidly losing its ability to defend itself. This is very, very bad.

"Ursaring!"

Riley's ursaring, who is the nearest to darkrai, roared in response and tried to help the mythical pokemon. However, it found itself on the receiving end of the attacks launched by a large group of feral pokemon and had no choice but to retreat. Riley quickly commanded his team to try and break through the mass of pokemon in an attempt to help darkrai, but there is simply too many pokemon to get through.

If only they have reinforcements.

As if his prayers for back-up was answered, flashes of lightning dropped down from the night sky and destroyed the drones immediately. A huge luxray floated down onto the ground in front of darkrai with two people riding on its back. Riley's eyes widened a little. He knew who the man is.

"Mr Tide?"

"Riley? What are you doing here?" Volkner asked curiously as he hopped off Simba's back, unbothered that he is being surrounded by hordes of feral pokemon under the command of a shady organisation.

"Investigating the source of nightmares in Canalave, my findings led me here." Riley quickly summarised what had happened as his team quickly gathered around him. "I don't know who these guys are, but they have some really dangerous and high-tech machineries. The beams their drones shot out was able to wear darkrai down extremely quickly."

"Not good news." Volkner shared his sentiments as he casually released his entire team out for battle. The woman that is with him followed his example, and Riley had to do a double take when he felt the power emitting from the woman's pokemon team. Never would he expect such an ordinary looking woman to be such a skilled trainer.

Looks can be deceiving.

And _who_ is she? Does she even have the required clearance to know about Newmoon Island? Not many have the same level of clearance him and Volkner both possess. Then again, **_Volkner_** was the one who brought her here. She probably could be trusted.

But then again, Volkner had never cared much for the rules…

Never mind that, the current situation at hand takes priority.

"You and darkrai take a break. Leave this to me and Jas. We will send them packing in no time." Volkner said in a very relaxed manner as he walked to stand beside the woman that came with him.

"Are you sure, Mr Tide?" Riley asked the person who was once his teacher, the person who had shaped him into who he is today. If it wasn't for Volkner, he would probably still be cooped up on Iron Island trying to get stronger blindly without a clear purpose in mind. Volkner was the one who first spotted his potential and helped him to grow as strong as he is today.

To him, Volkner will always be his teacher.

"Just sit back and relax, Riley." Volkner said with a casual wave of his hand before addressing the criminals in front of him.

"You guys are from Team Galactic, aren't you? The big G at the front of your suits says it all."

Looking at how some of the grunts tensed when Team Galactic was mentioned, Riley is almost sure that Team Galactic is the name of their organisation. The newly identified organisation that had nearly succeeded in instigating a siege on Sunyshore just a few days ago if it wasn't for Volkner's intervention.

"I have a _bone_ to pick with you guys for what you tried to do to my city." Volkner growled out as he cracked his knuckles. Sensing their trainer's anger, Volkner's electric types also crackled with yellow streaks of electricity which is gradually growing in power. The steel types of the woman's pokemon team shifted menacingly too, although their trainer herself remains silent. She is probably not the chatty type.

"Volkner of Sunyshore. Hand darkrai over to us. If you resist, you will fall."

Volkner pointed a lazy finger at the grunt who had talked back.

"The one who will fall is you guys. Thunder."

With a lazy twitch of his finger in a downward motion as the only warning, a large bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky in the next second, taking out a large group of Team Galactic's pokemon in that unexpected attack. That was the cue for the battle to resume as Volkner's electric types disappeared in flashes of yellow.

Riley allowed himself to take a breather. If Volkner is here, then everything should be alright. He and Flint are the most experienced members among the Thirteen Pillars when it comes to mob battles and handling organised crime. Together, the duo had busted many criminal organisations in Sinnoh even before they became famous.

"Look out!"

Riley's heart nearly leapt into his throat when a weavile emerged from the darkness to try and slash at Volkner's blind spot with its wicked claws. A spinning ball of metal barrelled violently into the weavile just a split second after Riley shouted his warning, taking it out. The forretress leapt back onto the frontlines after seeing that the weavile is now unconscious.

"Thanks, Jas." Volkner said to the woman standing not far away from him, who is commanding her own team and swiftly destroying her opposition.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"Got it." Volkner replied as he commanded Franky to send a powerful Thunder Punch at a group of houndooms, the impact of the punch is so strong that it sent them crashing through the nearby boulders. They never got back up.

More drones appeared from the dense foliage of the forest covered in darkness in an attempt to seize darkrai while Volkner and his female partner are busy in fending off the attacks. Riley and his team were about to respond to it, but a white blur got to the drones first as it smashed into the drones with a cloak of electricity over its small frame. The drones were all swiftly taken out within five seconds.

"Good job, Scrat. More berries for you later."

The pachirisu gave a happy cheer at his trainer's words before diving back into the battle, sending erratic arcs of electricity at his foes while zipping around at speeds too fast to be realistically followed by the naked eye. Riley cannot help but give an amused huff. Some things never change. Scrat is still a glutton for berries like how Riley remembers the bratty pachirisu to be.

Even if he had witnessed his teacher in action many times before, Riley still cannot help but look on in awe at how easy he made battling looks. Still, what was surprising is that his female partner is able to keep up with him with equal ease. Since when did Sinnoh has such a capable trainer in its ranks? From the looks of it, she is actually on Volkner's level!

It didn't take long for the Team Galactic grunts to realise that they cannot win with sheer numbers alone.

"Retreat!"

"Oh no you don't!" Volkner reacted immediately as the Team Galactic grunts began to beat it. "Tec! North!"

Volkner's rhyperior let out a loud bellow before raising large slabs of stone from the earth, creating a huge wall that cut off Team Galactic's escape route. His probopass rained boulders down with Rock Tomb, cutting off the remaining escape routes that Team Galactic might take. Puddle's Waterfall smashed any remaining pokemon of Team Galactic into blissful unconsciousness soon after in one powerful hit.

"Myst, Hypnosis."

Volkner's gallade didn't have a chance to do so as the same dark sphere from darkrai made contact with the Team Galactic grunts instead, immediately sending them into a frightful slumber. From how the grunts are twitching uncontrollably on the ground, the nightmares they are experiencing probably aren't very pleasant. The folks of the past called darkrai the bringer of nightmares for a reason.

"Or that works too, I guess." Volkner looked back at darkrai, who does not seem to be in a good mood for having its home invaded. The still furious darkrai gave a slight dip of its head in their direction as its only indication of thanks before swiftly fading into the darkness.

Riley let out a sigh of relief when darkrai disappeared. For a moment, he had thought that darkrai might attack them in a fit of rage. Darkrai doesn't have the friendliest of reputations even among mythical and legendary pokemon.

"Not the most sociable pokemon, is he?" Volkner mused while stretching his arms and giving a lazy yawn. "Looks like darkrai's fight with Team Galactic is the reason why its powers were fluctuating out of control, even if it was obvious that darkrai was holding back a lot. Maybe it holds some love for Canalave after staying here for so long and does not want more innocent people to get affected by its power? In any case, mystery of the unexplainable nightmares solved. Now all we have to do is to wait for Byron to return with the Lunar Wing."

"I wasn't expecting for darkrai's powers to be strong enough to influence as far as Canalave city whenever it goes into a fight." The woman that was with Volkner gave her own quiet comment. "You said darkrai was holding back, and already the amount of power I can feel from it is staggering."

"And yet Team Galactic has the technological know-how to build machines that is capable of restraining it. Darkrai is not a legendary, but it is close enough in terms of strength. Team Galactic might really be able to catch it if we weren't here. This is a cause for concern."

"If they improve their technology to the point that they are able to restrain even legendaries, like Palkia or Dialga…" Riley trailed off as he realised the implications of a criminal group possessing such technology in their hands.

"Sinnoh is done for." Volkner completed his sentence without missing a beat. "This is a lot more serious than we think it will be. Team Galactic had just proven itself to be a huge threat to Sinnoh."

"Oi, you twerps done?"

The familiar voice got everyone looking upwards as Byron shouted at them from the air, riding on the back of a psychic pokemon.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr Tide, but is Byron riding on _cresselia_?"

"Your eyes are working just fine, Riley. I didn't quite believe Byron's words to be true either when he first told me that he is '_best pals'_ with cresselia. I mean, **_Byron_** and cresselia? Poor cresselia. _Poor, poor_ cresselia for having to put up with our dear Byron."

"Oi, what _poor_ cresselia? We were best pals since I became the Gym Leader of Canalave." Byron retorted as he and cresselia landed on the ground. His skarmory dropped a huge net containing fallen Team Galactic grunts, who are all unconscious.

"They were on Fullmoon Island too?"

"These fools were trying to capture cresselia." Byron grumbled before turning to the grunts which Volkner and his female partner had fell. "They tried to do the same for darkrai?"

"They would have succeeded if Riley wasn't here. They have machineries that have the capability to restrain darkrai." Volkner answered as their pokemon began to gather the unconscious Team Galactic grunts and pile them together, acting as if having a **_legendary_** pokemon hovering right in front of him is a normal occurrence. Riley himself just cannot tear his eyes away from the majestic lunar pokemon, who is smiling at him the moment it noticed the attention he is giving it. _How many_ people can claim to have even seen a legendary pokemon in their lifetime?!

And yet the two Gym Leaders treated their presence as if they are seeing any other pokemon.

"This is bad."

"I know. I just hope our vacation don't get cancelled because of this."

"Eh, leave this to me and Riley. I'm already very thankful to the both of you for helping out, don't let me hold you back." Byron waved it off and his words finally got Riley's attention back to reality. "We will bring them back to the SPF. Cresselia and I will head back to Canalave and do our magic to wake whoever is still experiencing the nightmares. Go enjoy your vacation with your girlfriend. You two earned it."

"Thanks a lot, old man, cresselia." Volkner replied as he jumped onto Simba's back with the woman who had come with him. The friendly legendary pokemon trilled a greeting in return to Volkner and the woman accompanying him. Riley's eyes narrowed a little. Is that woman… Volkner's _girlfriend_? Since _when_ did Volkner get himself a girlfriend? And one who is such an accomplished trainer? **_Who_ **is she?

"I'm **not** old!" Byron shouted back at Volkner with the veins on his neck bulging from the irritation of being called old. It is a well-known fact that Byron's age is a sensitive topic for him. Volkner simply feigned deafness.

"Wait, Mr Tide!" Riley ran after his mentor figure and called out to him before he can fly away on Simba's back. "Can I request for a battle with you?"

That sudden request got everyone to look at him. Riley tried to catch his breath before continuing.

"Y-You promised me a battle the next time we met! I want to show you the results of my training!"

"Ah, I did promise you that a long time ago." Volkner said thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin with a hand. "Sure, let's have a battle. How long was it since we last battled? Four years ago?"

Riley nodded enthusiastically. He was Volkner's apprentice, he knew just how powerful Volkner is as a trainer. Volkner is his goal, it is his dream to surpass his mentor. Now is the best chance to show him just how much he had improved. He will shine brighter than the Sun of Sunyshore, this was the vow that he had took when he left Sunyshore four years ago.

This time, he won't lose.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the long wait. I had this chapter done like... a month or two ago (?) but I just never had the time to add the finishing touches. Hopefully I will have more time to finish up and post the next chapter asap. No guarantees though, so sorry about that.**

**And yes, in case you guys were wondering, I was inspired to write Riley in this manner after I watched Spiderman Homecoming & FFH back to back (especially how Peter keeps going on and on about '_Mr Stark! Mr Stark_!'). Idk why, but the idea of Volkner having an apprentice calling him 'Mr Tide! Mr Tide!' just amused me to no end. I just cannot _RESIST_ and I just cannot get that idea out of my head. I had to write it out.**

**Well, in case if you guys don't find it funny like I do, I apologise for my weird sense of humour.**

**In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Byron Gallium: The Gym Leader of Canalave, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Sinnoh's strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Man of Steel, Shield of Canalave**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Bastiodon**

**2) ****Magnezone**

**3) ****Steelix**

**4) ****Skarmory**

**5) ****Aggron**

**6) ****Bronzong**

**7) ****Forretress**

**8) ****Excadrill**

**9) ****Kabutops**

**10) ****Armaldo**

**Riley Slyde: Deputy Head of Security of Sinnoh Police Force, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Champion of 529th Lily of the Valley Conference, Volkner's apprentice, Deputy Head of Security of Sinnoh Police Force**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Lucario**

**2) ****Absol**

**3) ****Ursaring**

**4) ****Metagross**

**5) ****Salamence**

**6) ****Poliwrath**

**7) ****Rhyperior**

**8) ****Gyarados**

**9) ****Toxicroak**


	13. Chapter 13- Master and Apprentice

The Canalave Gym only operates on weekdays. Hence, it is a surprise to anyone currently walking past the gym to hear loud noises coming from within the building. Today is a Saturday. There shouldn't be a battle going on in the gym today.

The source of the noise is Riley and his team, who is having his pokemon do a warm-up sparring session with each other in preparation for their battle with Volkner later. His mentor had accepted his challenge late last night, but since everyone was tired from successfully foiling Team Galactic's plans at that time, they all agreed to push the match to this morning instead.

Byron was kind enough to lend Riley a spare key to his gym before he headed home last night so that Riley can come early to do his own warm-up today. All Byron wants in return was to spectate an exciting match. Riley is not planning to disappoint. He is not planning to just do a spectacular job.

He is planning to _win_.

He knows that he is one of the stronger trainers in his generation, a 'rising star' as most of the older folks call him. The cream of the crop. Many people had told him that his strength as a trainer is enough for him to be considered by the League as a potential member to be the next Thirteen Pillars should a current member step down. He is happy that people recognise his strength, but he forced himself to keep a clear head and not let the praises get to him.

Arrogance can fell even the strongest of men. That was a lesson that he had learnt the hard way.

Back when Riley first started on his Sinnoh Gym Circuit and finally climbed his way through the first seven gyms to Sunyshore Gym, Volkner was the newly appointed leader of the gym. Riley was young back then, only twelve years old, but he had done the impossible and is on his way to complete his gym circuit in only a short span of less than a year. He had claimed seven badges in just ten months through beating every single Gym Leader in his gym challenges, a feat that not many can boast. He had thought that the challenge for the Beacon Badge would be an easy win.

Volkner had decimated him.

He had seriously underestimated the power that the last gym in the circuit wield. Even before facing the Gym Leader himself, the gym trainers he had to first overcome were no pushovers. Riley had persevered and eventually made his way to Volkner, but his team wasn't as healthy as he liked it to be.

And when Volkner had wiped his team with only an eelektross and a vikavolt, he started to doubt himself.

He had done several more attempts to win the Beacon Badge from Volkner, but each of them was thwarted by Volkner again and again. Volkner had said that he is a talented trainer but had also told him that talent alone is not enough. Volkner had said that he was not yet good enough to compete in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Volkner told him that he was not yet ready to be an Elite trainer.

And when Riley asked why, Volkner had simply said that it is something that he has to figure out on his own before Volkner went back to take a nap.

Volkner is not a Generalist like him, but he has several pokemon in his possession that are not electric types and yet also absurdly strong. It is rare to find a Generalist in the top tiers of the trainer community due to the difficulty in trying to be one, to master all knowledge, to train any and all pokemon belonging to all 17 typings. In the truly Elite tier, Volkner is the closest and strongest 'Generalist' one can get in Sinnoh that is not Cynthia.

Riley decided that the only way to beat Volkner is to learn from Volkner himself.

Volkner accepted his request to be his gym trainer. Even better, he had offered him a chance to be his official _apprentice_.

To be an apprentice of a Gym Leader is a huge matter, it is something to be proud of since it is not an offer given lightly. It is a prestigious position, one that many will try to get no matter the cost. Volkner may be new to the job back then, but he **_is_** a Gym Leader. Riley accepted the offer immediately. Apprenticeships are rare in the trainer community since most trainers prefer to keep their training method close to their chest. Such things are closely guarded secrets among trainers. Riley had requested to be apprenticed under several notable trainers before, but none of them gave him any time of the day.

Volkner may not think Riley was yet ready to be an Elite trainer, but the offer he gave him also meant that Volkner had recognised his potential.

Volkner's laid back personality can be frustrating to deal with, but Riley knew better than to be deceived by his mentor's behaviour. Volkner is deceptively strong. There are times that he hardly needs to even give a single command to his pokemon in battle and yet he and his team will still come up on top. Volkner put Riley through the toughest challenges he can find for him, and Riley will always do his utmost best to succeed.

He still failed more than he won.

Volkner never blamed him. In fact, it was like he had expected Riley to fail. It wasn't until much later that he realised that Volkner _wanted_ him to fail.

It puzzled him. However, he also knows that Volkner wants nothing but the best for him, so he didn't question his mentor's logic.

Being Volkner's apprentice was a full-time job. Riley hardly gets any rest during his apprenticeship to Volkner. Volkner himself is also a very busy man, but he tried to have at least three training sessions with Riley every week no matter how busy he is. Because of the sincere dedication Volkner displayed in mentoring him, Riley cherished every training session he had with Volkner, not wanting to disappoint him.

Initially, Riley had no idea what he wanted to do if he ever completed his apprenticeship and finished competing in his first ever conference. The first thought he had was to head back to his home on Iron Island and continue to train like a hermit, but Volkner had suggested for him to try a career in the League's forces. He can still remember Volkner's words, _'If you truly want to stand at the very top, go get a life and go out and explore the world'_.

According to Volkner, the real challenges can only be found there, since the League's forces deals with very real problems in the region. It is a place where your skills as a trainer are put to the ultimate test. Volkner even somehow managed to source for an internship for him with the SPF to help Riley get a feel of the job, so that Riley can know what it feels like to be working for the League and can better decide if such a future career suits him.

It was just a two-month internship, but Riley loved every moment of it. He decided that enlisting into the SPF is what he will do when he finally finished his conference. He likes the idea of using his strength to help people in need and to uphold justice and peace in his homeland. It is similar to what Volkner is doing, just that Volkner is doing it in the capacity as a Gym Leader.

In the second year of the apprenticeship, his apprenticeship with Volkner ended suddenly without any warning. It was just a normal day where Volkner will spar with him. As usual, Riley lost. Volkner then dropped the bomb on him, saying that Riley had learnt all that he can teach him and it is time for him to go out once more to see the world. He is now ready to be an Elite trainer. Volkner then gave Riley the Beacon Badge and promptly told him to kick everyone's ass in his upcoming conference.

That was how his two-year apprenticeship with Volkner came to an end.

Even when he left Sunyshore to compete in the 529th Lily of the Valley Conference, he still had no idea why Volkner suddenly deemed him ready. He only realised what Volkner was trying to impart to him only when he participated in his first conference.

Volkner wanted him to learn how to fail. Even without Riley himself realising it, he had become arrogant and complacent after seven consecutive wins in his gym circuit. Volkner wanted Riley to curb his own arrogance. Only when he learnt to be humble then can he flourish.

There will always be a handful of talented trainers in every year's conference, trainers who only needed a year or even less to finish their circuit. Riley would have been like them if it wasn't for Volkner putting a temporary stop to his journey. Most of these talented trainers have one thing in common.

They are so used to winning that they don't take their losses very well.

Volkner was right to say that talent can only bring one so far. The conference is a big event, where skilled trainers from all over the region came to compete to prove to the world that they are the strongest of the strongest. Some of them even travelled to Sinnoh from other regions to participate in the Sinnoh Gym Circuit on the Elite level to enter the Lily of the Valley Conference. It is a place where monsters gather. No matter how talented you are, there's no way one can win if you simply have one year of experience as a pokemon trainer. Unless you are Steven Stone from Hoenn, who is an anomaly even among Elite trainers.

Most trainers who only have one year of experience under their belt never ventured far into the conference, no matter how talented they are. Most of them didn't believe that they will lose. Riley can tell from their facial expressions whenever they got eliminated from the conference.

Riley could imagine what went on in their heads. Why would they lose? They are geniuses, people called them as such. They had never failed before.

So _why_?

They were like him. The him before he suffered a devastating loss thanks to Volkner. He was glad that Volkner taught him how to fail before he entered the conference. If Volkner were to just hand him the Beacon Badge on his first try in the Sunyshore Gym Challenge, Riley would be like these trainers: too full of himself. His own talent will be his downfall as it is a perfect breeding ground for arrogance to fester. He would not have known that there will always be someone stronger than you out there in this big world. A smooth sailing life may not always be the best for you. Sometimes, people do need to fail every now and then to remind themselves that there will always be someone better than you.

This was the most important lesson that he had learnt from Volkner.

He was still curious as to why Volkner chose him as his apprentice out of the many talented trainers that had challenged his gym. Volkner only gave him a short reply.

_"Because unlike those self-conceited trainers, you are willing to learn and change. You are willing to continuously improve yourself and not stay stagnant no matter how strong you will be."_

He can see his mentor's logic. Volkner could have singlehandedly stopped these talented trainers on their journey to teach them what it means to fail, but if they don't want to learn, then there won't be any use either.

Being Volkner's apprentice does have its own set of expectations. With the title comes a certain amount of pressure from the public. They expect him to perform.

He did. Riley mowed down his opposition and became the Champion of the 529th Lily of the Valley Conference. He did himself proud. He did his family proud. He did his mentor proud as well.

Due to his spectacular performance in his conference, his application into the SPF was immediately accepted. It also helped that he had left a nice impression on his superiors during his two-month internship with them previously. Over the years, he climbed up the ranks through his own skills and effort, ending up as the Deputy Head of Security of the Sinnoh Police Force at the young age of seventeen years old. Many had thought it was foolish to give such a huge responsibility to someone so young.

He proved them wrong.

If Volkner hadn't taught him how to fail, he wouldn't have succeeded today. That's why Riley decided to challenge his mentor to a battle.

He wants to show him that he is strong enough to surpass him.

He is ready.

"You are early as usual."

The familiar lazy drawl of his mentor's voice got him turning to the door as Volkner strode through the entrance with Byron and Jasmine beside him.

His mentor actually has a _girlfriend_. Riley still cannot believe that a person as lazy as him actually has a _girlfriend_.

"I'm ready, Mr Tide."

"So am I. I assume this is a six-on-six battle?" Volkner asked as he took his position on one end of the field and gave a lazy stretch. Byron walked to the referee stand as Jasmine took a seat behind Volkner.

"Yes. Please do not go easy on me, Mr Tide."

"As I used to say to you all the time, that will depend if _you_ are able to make _me_ and _my team_ take you seriously." Volkner said with a lazy smile on his face as he handed the cap he was wearing on his head to Jasmine, who took a seat behind Volkner on the challenger's box. His mentor's girlfriend is also obviously curious as to what the outcome of this match will be.

Still, _who_ is she? She looks so very _familiar_ but for the life of him Riley just can't seem to remember _who_ she is.

"Right. Just to make this clear, this is a six-on-six battle. No items are allowed. Switching of pokemon is allowed. Any objections?" Byron lay out the rules, a standard procedure before the start of any official match.

"I want to add one. Mega Evolution is allowed."

Everyone turned to Volkner at his words.

"Really?" Byron questioned, surprise clear in his voice.

"Riley should have a Mega Stone due to his position as the Deputy Head of Security. Besides, every one of us here knows about the secret existence of Mega Evolution and it is not like there is anyone else spectating this match. We are still acting in accordance to the rules set by the PWL. Why not?" Volkner shrugged. "Of course, that is if he agrees to it."

"I accept." Riley said quickly. If he wants to go all out, then Mega Evolution is a power that he wants to tap into.

Mega Evolution is a huge and tightly guarded secret that the member regions of the PWL keep away from the public eye and knowledge because this power is too dangerous when used by the wrong people. Most of the time, only high-ranking League trainers and the Thirteen Pillars are allowed possession of Mega Stones and Key Stones and even then, there is a limit on how many one is allowed to have. Only when the circumstances are dire enough is Mega Evolution allowed. Riley knows that Volkner had filed a report stating that he had resorted to Mega Evolution without prior approval from the League in order to save his city during the siege on Sunyshore. The League was fine with it due to the nature of the incident, and also because no one saw its use on the vast sea where the battle was held, including the ship which was attacked since it was proven that the ship was too far away for anyone to see the battle clearly. No one can find any faults with Volkner's decision, so it was left as it is. The secret of Mega Evolution is still a secret from those who should not know about it.

"Alright, just _**one** _thing before we start. **_Don't_** destroy my gym. Or I _will_ **_flip_**." Byron directed the last part at Volkner, who simply wagged one of his eyebrows at Byron as if saying _should I do just that_?

"Both sides ready?" Upon seeing both challengers giving a nod of their heads, Byron called the start of the match.

**"Let the battle begin!"**

Like Riley had expected, Volkner sent out his jolteon, Jo, for battle first. Riley had sent out his absol. His absol is the only one that can possibly match Jo in speed.

"Thunder Wave!"

"Magic Coat!"

Upon hitting the Magic Coat, Jo's Thunder Wave bounced back harmlessly thanks to Jo's Volt Absorb ability. Absol used this time to charge right in and unleashed a massive Night Slash that tore the ground up with it.

"Charge Beam!"

Absol's Night Slash was countered by a condensed beam of electricity that dug a huge trench on the ground in its wake. Jo didn't let up as more Charge Beams were fired at absol, forcing it to be on the run. Riley gritted his teeth at the sight. Jo's Charge Beam are not to be trifled with. Each of these attacks might as well be a Thunderbolt with how destructive the effects are due to Jo's expertise in this particular move.

"Absol, Shadow Ball!"

"Agility, dodge it!"

Jo immediately became a yellow blur on the battlefield as absol's Shadow Balls missed its every mark. Riley can tell that his absol is getting frustrated at the futile attempts to nail Jo with even a single attack. Something needs to be done about Jo's insane speed. Jo is only getting quicker with successive uses of Agility.

"Blizzard, freeze the arena!"

"Discharge, blow it up!"

The raging snowstorm summoned by absol was met with a huge electrical blast by Jo, creating an explosion that left a huge crater in the middle of the battlefield. Another Charge Beam found its mark onto absol in the chaos, who hissed in pain at the contact but retaliated with a Punishment, only for the jolteon to evade it with Detect.

Volkner suddenly have a huge grin on his face which sent Riley into a panic. Whatever Volkner is planning to do next, it cannot be good. _Wait_ a second, **_when_** had he seen this grin before?

His past battles with his mentor flashed across his mind.

Shit. _How_ had he **_not_** thought of it earlier?!

"Jo, Baton Pass to Tec!"

Crap.

Jo immediately switched out and Volkner's hulking rhyperior announced its appearance with a deafening bellow.

"Drill Run!"

"Detect, then Water Pulse!"

Absol barely managed to evade Tec's charge and unleashed a huge pulse of water. The rhyperior countered absol's Water Pulse with its own use of Surf, sending absol tumbling back instead.

"Megahorn!"

With a burst of speed that such a behemoth shouldn't possess, Tec rushed in to try and fling absol away with a powerful thrust of his horn. Riley quickly recalled his absol back to its pokeball before that can happen. As of now, absol is not suited to take down an empowered Tec.

Jo had passed on its speed to Tec with Baton Pass earlier, covering Tec's weakness in the speed department. Riley gave himself a mental slap in his mind. **_How_** could he forget about Jo's ability to use Baton Pass? It is one of Volkner's favourite strategy when it comes to sending Jo out for battle!

The rhyperior species boasts impressive offense and defense but is extremely slow in speed. However, Jo had rectified that with Agility and passing it on with Baton Pass. There aren't many on Riley's team that can go against Tec. His gyarados could, but his mentor is the strongest Electric Specialist in Sinnoh. Tec would obviously have learnt a wide arsenal of electric type moves to be used at his disposal. Sending out a water-flying type for battle is just asking to get himself fried.

Only his rhyperior can go against Volkner's Tec.

Riley's own rhyperior appeared for battle and roared his challenge to Tec, who answered the challenge with his own.

"Tec, Surf!"

A massive wall of water crashed down on rhyperior as Tec rode the waves. Riley realised that the increase in offensive power from Jo's earlier usages of Charge Beam must have carried over to Tec as well with the Baton Pass. Thanks to that, Tec's Surf is a lot stronger than usual. In fact, any ranged moves from Tec will have its power increased thanks to the power up from Jo's Charge Beams. Volkner is taking full advantage of the power up carried over to Tec.

Baton Pass. _One move_, that was all Volkner needed to turn the tide of the battle to his favour. His mentor is really a skilled trainer and Riley himself is still too careless. He should have his absol started off with Taunt.

Still, there are benefits in allowing the opponent to move first.

"Metal Burst!"

A large burst of energy from rhyperior impacted against Tec, pushing him back. Metal Burst is an attack that deals a greater amount of damage that was recently inflicted on the user. It is a move that can be better utilised by a pokemon with slower speed. It is the perfect counter to Tec, who had raised its speed through Jo's help.

"Not bad, Riley. But how long can your rhyperior hold on? Tec, Focus Blast!"

Tec roared before charging up a Focus Blast and throwing it at his rhyperior, who destroyed the attack with a Stone Edge.

"Don't let up, Flash Cannon!"

Riley's rhyperior was forced to be on the defensive immediately. Riley gritted his teeth. The situation he is facing is getting worse the longer the battle drags on. Tec needs to be brought down before it grew to be too big a problem to be solved.

He will need to sacrifice rhyperior to bring Tec down. No other pokemon on his team can face Tec as it is. Right now, Riley's strategy is to force both rhyperiors to fling absurdly strong moves against each other to see who can outlast the other. There's no way both pokemon can last long in combat once the battle took this direction. It is just a matter of who goes down first.

"Power-Up Punch!"

Rhyperior dashed in upon his command to rain punches on Tec, who took a leaf out of their book by bracing the attack and countered with a Metal Burst, sending rhyperior flying back instead. Rhyperior didn't let up and unleashed a Superpower in an attempt to overpower Tec, who merely ripped the ground with Earth Power to stop rhyperior's charge.

"End it, Flash Cannon!"

"Charge through it, Endure!"

Knowing what its trainer is planning, Riley's rhyperior braved through Tec's Flash Cannon with Endure to close the distance. When Tec's Flash Cannon ended, rhyperior turned the tables by smacking Tec with an Endeavour, levelling the playing field immediately. With that, now both rhyperiors have their health dangerously low. One more hit is all it takes to knock each other out. Riley wasted no time in giving his next command.

"Iron Head!"

Rhyperior lowered his head and bashed at Tec with Iron Head, only to be surprised when a greenish energy shield got in its way.

Tec had somehow pulled off a Protect.

"Reversal!"

In a stunning display, Tec swung its massive arms and smashed into rhyperior, sending it flying to the other end of the arena and taking it out for the count.

No way. He was _so close_!

"I had a hunch you would pull off something like that." Volkner mused. "Good job on the Endeavour, by the way. But remember, Tec is still faster than your rhyperior thanks to Jo's Baton Pass. A speedy rhyperior is a scary one to face."

Riley didn't answer his mentor as he recalled his rhyperior. Even after so long, a battle with his mentor makes him feel as if he is the same inexperienced student all over again. _And Volkner and Tec aren't even fully serious in their fight._ He still didn't manage to push his mentor hard enough to take him seriously, he can tell that much. Tec had purposely taken on all the damage his own rhyperior inflicted on him when he could have just dodged or blocked. Riley knew Tec is more than capable of that. The fact that Tec's grin is stretching from one end of his rocky face to another is another clue that the monster of a rhyperior just wants to enjoy the thrill of the battle as much as possible. Tec didn't even care if he would lose or win as long as he can fight an exciting battle.

To be so strong that you are begging to lose by lowering your strength. Just **_how_** strong is Volkner?

Riley cannot help but let his own smile appear on his face at the excitement of facing his mentor in such a heated battle. He called out his absol for battle again, determined to put Tec down and make his mentor take him seriously. Tec has been weakened enough, absol can finish the job.

"Psych Up, then Water Pulse!"

Absol immediately copied the effects of Tec's power ups before unleashing a massive wave of water. Tec defended himself once more with Protect before starting a Rain Dance.

_Oh no._

"Taunt! Then Focus Blast!"

Absol could only manage to use a Taunt before it was forced to flee from a massive Thunder coming at it from above. If there is one thing Riley had learnt from his apprenticeship with Volkner, it is that you should **_never_ **allow Volkner the chance to set up a Rain Dance if you want to beat him.

"Sunny Day! Disperse the clouds!"

"Flamethrower! Roast it!"

Volkner and Tec quickly adapted to the change by making use of the heat of Sunny Day to use a Flamethrower, whose effects are boosted from the Sunny Day. No matter how absol tried, it can never get in range to fire off its attacks. Tec is just too versatile and strong.

"Future Sight!"

This is the only move left that might be able to help absol get pass Tec's onslaught.

"Earthquake! Wreck the ground!"

Numerous large cracks appeared on the ground as it split into many segments from Tec's Earthquake and slabs of earth were thrown into the air from the impact. Absol was forced to use a Detect to escape. An idea suddenly struck Riley. All he needs to bring the unstoppable Tec down is to bait it to use a huge attack.

"Absol, get close and use Iron Tail!"

"Focus Blast, take it down!"

Volkner took the bait. That's it.

"Me First!"

Riley knew that he succeeded when he saw the look of surprise on Volkner's face. Thanks to the effect of Me First, absol was able to steal Tec's Focus Blast and use it on him instead before Tec could, finally bringing the behemoth down.

From the looks on Byron's and Jasmine's faces, they weren't expecting the turnaround too.

Riley can see Volkner give him an approving grin before sending out Simba. The luxray let out a roar before using a Protect to defend himself from absol's Future Sight that was prepared earlier. That attack didn't accomplish anything other than annoying the large feline.

"Swagger."

Simba's Swagger managed to enrage absol into the state of confusion. It gives Simba just enough time to set up an Electric Terrain before promptly knocking absol out with a Thunderbolt. Absol didn't even have a chance to defend itself.

It still didn't discourage Riley. The battle so far is still one of the most favourable battles he had with his mentor. It shows that his hard work through the years had paid off. He quickly sent out his next pokemon.

"Salamence, Dragon Pulse!"

Riley's salamence flew into the air at high speeds before shooting numerous Dragon Pulses at Simba, who evaded the attacks and took to the air with its own use of Magnet Rise. Simba sent out numerous blasts of Shock Waves which found its target on Salamence, who roared in pain. The Shock Waves only serves to make the dragon angrier.

"Eerie Impulse, lower its offensive powers."

Simba let out a mysterious pulse of electrical energy which immediately lowered salamence's offensive powers upon the exposure. Simba followed up by sending numerous arcs of electricity, which Riley recognised to be Thunder Wave. Volkner and Simba are aiming to clip salamence's wings and hinder its ability to fly. That absolutely cannot be allowed to happen.

Salamence recognised the threat of the Thunder Wave as well and destroyed the attack with its own use of Dragon Breath. It flew up high into the air and used a Dragon Dance, determined to out speed the luxray.

"Dragon Rush!"

Salamence zoomed in at high speed upon the command, only for Volkner to do the unexpected once more.

"Flash, then Toxic!"

A bright surge of light blinded the occupants of the gym. When the light subsided, they found salamence to be on the defensive from Simba's onslaught of attacks. The dragon is still partially blinded from the earlier use of Flash.

Thankfully, salamence had managed to evade Simba's Toxic. Riley and salamence would be on a time limit to bring the luxray down otherwise.

"Dragon Claw!"

That attack connected onto Simba. Simba wasn't deterred and quickly got back on its feet before charging back in with a Wild Charge, shocking salamence with a huge voltage of electricity.

"Fly and Rest!"

Salamence quickly regained some of its lost health with Rest while flying upwards before purposely dropping back onto the ground the moment it fell asleep. Simba's Electric Terrain is still active, and salamence quickly woke up upon falling onto the electrified ground. Electric Terrain has the effect of preventing any pokemon on the ground from falling asleep and Riley is using any advantage that he can get from Simba's Electric Terrain to even the odds. It still didn't stop Simba from sinking its fangs onto salamence with an Ice Fang as the two pokemon clawed and bite at each other brutally on the ground.

"Earthquake!"

"Magnet Rise, then Thunder!"

Simba deftly evaded the Earthquake with Magnet Rise before a huge pillar of lightning crashed down onto salamence. Salamence is still far from being put down, its anger has no other purpose but to fuel its strength. It returned the favour by raining a large volley of rocks with Rock Slide, forcing Simba to dodge the attack.

Salamence's Scary Face managed to freeze Simba for a split second, just enough time for Riley's salamence to crash into it with a Dragon Rush and pin it to the ground.

"Draco Meteor!"

Salamence's Draco Meteor was unleashed onto Simba at point blank. The draconic attack blew up the entire arena with it, throwing rocks and earth in every direction. The entire battlefield was reshaped. The psychic barriers that protects the onlookers groaned and strained against the impact, flickering in and out of existence erratically but still managed to hold the worst of the attack in.

Riley let out a smile. He and salamence had brought Simba down.

Or so he thought.

A cry of pain got him snapping out of his thoughts as his salamence back-pedalled with arcs of electricity coursing through its body and its muscles convulsed uncontrollably. _How_? **_How_** had salamence got itself paralysed?

Simba fought to stand on its feet as it stood up from the huge crater on the ground. Riley realised that it must have used an Endure to defend itself from the Draco Meteor.

"Wild Charge!"

Simba smashed into salamence with a powerful Wild Charge before fainting from the recoil. Salamence had suffered significant damage, but is still able to battle even after taking the destructive attack head on. However, the paralysis status Simba had inflicted on it has Riley worried.

Also, the battle thus far feels a little too easy. Is Volkner _still_ not going at his full strength?

"Now **_this_** is the battle I'm looking for! Watch out, Riley! Franky, Electro Ball!"

A huge blast of crackling orb of electricity blasted salamence backwards the moment Franky was called out for battle. The monstrous electivire zoomed in and closed the distance with a Thunder Punch while rain clouds start to blanket the entire ceiling of the gym as it ran. Byron and Jasmine both already have their pokemon out to help shield them from the incoming rain.

Still, how did Franky managed to use a Rain Dance while running at high speed?

Salamence blocked Franky's charge with a Protect, pushing itself past the paralysis to continue battling. The Electric Terrain that Simba had set up earlier had vanished, so Riley is unable to use the same tactic to let salamence use Rest to recover and then wake itself up from its forced rest. Volkner also won't be stupid enough to allow Riley to use his own moves against him a second time.

"Don't let it fly into the air! Electroweb!"

Nets charged with electricity covered salamence from head to toe which the dragon burned down with blasts of fire. Salamence tried to force Franky away with an Earthquake, the offensive power of the attack being boosted by its Moxie ability for taking down Simba earlier. Franky simply ignored the attack and stuck close to salamence with Quick Attack. It jumped onto salamence's back, used its two tails to wrap around its wings, and unleashed a massive voltage of electricity that got salamence roaring in pain.

"Shake it off your back! Outrage!"

"Thunder!"

Franky's attack was way faster as a Thunder struck down on both Franky and salamence from the rain clouds. Salamence had to defend itself with a Roost by healing itself and temporarily taking away its flying typing to mitigate some of the damage it is receiving, but it won't be enough.

"Thunder Punch!"

"Protect!"

Riley saw how his salamence was about to defend itself from Franky's Thunder Punch, only to widen his eyes in shock when the paralysis it received from Simba earlier prevented it from reacting fast enough. Franky's attack found its mark and salamence lay defeated beneath his feet.

Franky still looks fresh and raring to go.

Riley recalled salamence with a grim expression on his face. He knows facing Franky is inevitable the moment he challenged Volkner to an all-out battle, but the electivire is still a nightmare to face no matter how much he had prepared for it. Franky is arguably the strongest pokemon on Volkner's team, depending on which angle you are looking at.

As of now, one pokemon of his might be able to match Franky in power.

"Ursaring, Swords Dance!"

Riley's ursaring wasted no time in raising its offensive powers the moment it was summoned. Franky used the same time to close the distance and knocked ursaring back with a Cross Chop.

"Mega Punch!"

"Psychic, stop the attack!"

Ursaring's Mega Punch was forcefully stopped when Franky's Psychic halted its attack before flinging the normal type away from it. Franky sent out a Thunder Wave at Ursaring, who destroyed the attack with a Seed Bomb.

Franky had taken this brief time to close the distance again. The electivire is like an unstoppable force. No matter what you throw at it, it _just **won't** stay down_ and keeps coming back at you. No defence is capable of withstanding Franky's insanely strong offensive powers.

In that case, Riley will just have to force Volkner to switch out his pokemon.

"Ursaring, Roar!"

That move forcefully sent Franky back to his pokeball and Jo was dragged out instead. The jolteon reacted quickly in preventing itself from being on the receiving end of ursaring's Slash by dodging to a side.

Ursaring started up a Fury Cutter, but every slash of its claws missed its mark as the jolteon zipped around the field with Agility while buzzing with electricity. As practiced, Riley's ursaring tried to stop Jo with an Earthquake, only for Jo to use Magnet Rise to evade the move.

"Feint Attack! Then Smack Down!"

Feint Attack is an attack that never misses, and Riley wasn't disappointed when ursaring managed to finally hit Jo with that attack, scoring a critical hit. However, Jo evaded the Smack Down with a Detect and blasted ursaring with a massive Thunderbolt in retaliation. Ursaring tried to hit Jo with Return, only to catch an afterimage of Jo's Double Team instead.

Jo's speed is a really big issue. They also cannot allow Jo to use Baton Pass again.

"Force jolteon to fight you head on, Taunt!"

Jo bristled as its continuous use of Agility was put to an abrupt stop by ursaring's Taunt, but it is still plenty fast even with Taunt in effect. It is no slouch in the strength department either, as shown when it got ursaring to stagger and take a few steps backwards with a single Thunderbolt that also destroyed whatever is left of the arena.

Jo closed the distance with a Quick Attack, dodging ursaring's swipes of its claws at the same time.

"Volt Switch!"

Franky announced its reappearance with a Thunder Punch that got ursaring to skid a few metres backwards. Ursaring tried to force Franky to switch out with another Roar, but Franky defended against the attack with a Protect before heading right in with a Rolling Kick. Ursaring is now forced into close combat with Franky, an area of combat in which Franky had hardly lost.

"Fury Cutter!"

Each consecutive slash of Fury Cutter that hits the target doubles the power of the next hit. It is the best attack for ursaring right now to match Franky in combat. The only thing that ursaring have to take note of is to not miss any of its slashes.

"Take it, then Dynamic Punch!"

Franky defended against the first slash of Fury Cutter by blocking it with one of his arms. He cocked back the other arm before he let loose a powerful Dynamic Punch on ursaring, sending it flying into the air.

"Don't let it have a chance to do anything else! Taunt! Then Thunder!"

Franky returned Riley's tactic of using Taunt against his foes with his own Taunt before calling down a massive Thunder. Ursaring destroyed the incoming Thunder with Metal Claw before dropping onto the ground, somehow overcoming its confused ailment inflicted by Franky's Dynamic Punch earlier.

"Rollout!"

Ursaring jumped into the air, curled itself up, and swiftly rolled in Franky's direction in a brown blur. Franky stood his ground and used its big arms to stop ursaring's Rollout directly, forcing it to come to a stop with sheer physical strength alone.

"Ursaring, **_get out of there_**!"

"Discharge!"

Franky's Discharge blasted ursaring backwards, who had snapped out of its confusion upon receiving the attack. Ursaring retaliated with a Play Rough which Franky intercepted before using a Low Sweep to trip it. Ursaring barely had time to roll out of the way when Franky's arm came crashing down with a Brick Break.

Franky's two tails poised like ekans on a hunt before it suddenly let out two separate Charge Beams from its tips that swept across the arena, tracking down ursaring as it ran from the attacks. The Charge Beams cut up anything in its way, turning the arena into a big mess. Ursaring only have a few options to defend itself with Franky's Taunt still in effect.

"Fling!"

Ursaring quickly picked up a huge rubble upon Riley's command and threw it at Franky at speed too fast for the human eye to pick up. Franky wasn't bothered by the attack as a swing of its own arms crushed the debris into pieces, his own Charge Beams still trying to find its mark on ursaring.

"Lift it up with Stone Edge!"

Franky's attack was finally disrupted when a huge jagged stone erupted from the ground to stab him. Franky managed to dodge the attack at the last minute and destroyed the rock with a swift punch. However, ursaring is now coming back at him with a snarl.

"Shadow Claw!"

"Barrier! Then Headbutt!"

Franky defended against most of Shadow Claw's damage with Barrier before smacking ursaring's head with a Headbutt, causing the normal type to flinch from the attack. It was enough time for Franky to wrap his tails onto ursaring's paws. Riley quickly shouted at ursaring to free itself. It is obvious what is coming next.

"Quick, get out of the bind!"

Riley's warning to ursaring was too late as Franky let loose a huge voltage of electricity directly onto ursaring, who cannot do anything else but thrash helplessly as its arms were restricted by Franky's tails. It tried to use a Mega Kick, but Franky simply smashed its legs back down with a Karate Chop. It tried to unleash a Hyper Beam from its mouth, but another Headbutt from Franky forced its mouth shut and prevented the Hyper Beam from firing.

Ursaring only lasted three seconds before it fainted.

Even when another member of his team was brought down, Riley wasn't discouraged. He knew Volkner's Franky is ridiculously strong in both close- and long-range combat. Almost nothing can faze Volkner's monstrous electivire, the cornerstone of his team. The only pokemon in Sinnoh that can match Volkner's electivire are probably Flint's magmortar and Cynthia's garchomp. Riley wasn't really expecting his ursaring to be able to defeat Volkner's electivire in a one-on-one match anyway, he just wants ursaring to wear Franky down.

Although from the looks of it, they didn't really quite succeed.

Riley sent out his metagross next, who defended against Franky's electric beams with Light Screen. Any physical attacks by Franky were defended against with Iron Defence and metagross matched Franky's speed with Agility. Franky seems to genuinely enjoy the challenge as it fought expertly, matching his fists with metagross's steel legs.

A Psychic sent Franky flying backwards although he immediately righted himself in the air with Magnet Rise. Riley was surprised when Volkner recalled Franky back into his pokeball. Riley really doesn't like the smile on Volkner's face right now.

"Come on out, Puddle!"

Riley held back a frustrated sound from forming in his throat. Puddle is an absolute menace to go against. Metagross's steel type attacks are also not as effective on a water type like Puddle. The gyarados's huge size is also making it harder for his metagross to take it down through strength alone.

Thankfully, Canalave gym is big enough to accommodate both metagross and Puddle and they are able to fight freely without being hindered much by space constraints. Riley immediately commanded his metagross to fly with Magnet Rise, a move that Volkner had taught him how to utilise to its full potential.

"Thunder Punch!"

"Flamethrower!"

Metagross zipped around the Flamethrower with its legs crackling with electricity. Its Thunder Punch found its target, but the attack barely affected the gigantic gyarados. Metagross was slammed backwards by Puddle's Aqua Tail with a simple lazy flick. Puddle even had the time to give a big disinterested yawn, its eyes drooping in a sleepy manner.

Puddle doesn't think metagross is a threat.

Metagross used one of its metal legs to defend itself from Puddle's Brutal Swing before crashing into the gyarados with a Zen Headbutt. Gyarados behaved as if the attack didn't even tickle it and halfheartedly tried to catch the flying metagross with a Crunch, looking annoyed at having called out for battle.

"Bring it down with Surf!"

"Psychic!"

Metagross's expertise with Psychic was its only saving grace against any ranged attacks Puddle threw at it. Riley saw Volkner frown a little before giving his next command to Puddle.

"Scald! Don't let up! Force it to defend!"

"Light Screen! Defend any attacks that got through the Light Screen with Psychic!"

A ghostly aura covered Puddle whenever metagross used a Psychic to defend against Puddle's Scald. It took a few seconds for Riley to realise what that ghostly aura is.

That was Spite. Volkner is trying to quickly deprive metagross of one of its strongest and most versatile moves by using Spite against metagross's Psychic. Puddle's repeated use of Scald is to force metagross to rely on Psychic for defence, and whenever it does so, Puddle will use a Spite as well.

Cunning.

"Double Team!"

Metagross immediately acted on the change in plans with Double Team and released a powerful Psyshock on Puddle, who is now enraged at getting hit by that move. All hints of sleepiness in Puddle is now gone. A powerful Hyper Beam struck Puddle as it roared in pain before the gyarados used a Brutal Swing to destroy all of metagross's illusionary copies in one fell swoop that was brought about by Double Team. The snarl from the humongous gyarados clued everyone in that Puddle is angry.

"Shadow Ball!"

Metagross adopted a hit-and-run tactic as it blasted Shadow Balls after Shadow Balls while zipping about in the air. Puddle released another Surf to wash metagross backwards with the huge wall of water, but metagross charged through the attack with a Zen Headbutt before firing another Hyper Beam right in Puddle's face. Puddle inflicted significant damage on metagross with just a single Hydro Pump before unleashing a Zap Cannon, which metagross managed to move out of the way at the last second.

"Toxic!"

Puddle was forced to use a Protect to prevent itself from getting poisoned. It finally decided to move from its position, slithering on the ground before taking off in the air.

Puddle **_roared, _**and Riley knew that this battle just got a lot harder.

Puddle is sick of taking hits. It is done playing around. One part of Riley is happy that he finally got Volkner and Puddle to take this match seriously, the other part is frantically screaming at him to hurry and **_do something_** before things got really hard.

"Dragon Dance! Then Waterfall!"

"Stop it! Bullet Punch!"

Puddle ignored the rain of punches metagross is unleashing on it. It let loose a roar before slamming into metagross with a powerful Waterfall. Metagross had managed to partially defend against the attack with an Iron Defence and tried to stop Puddle's advance with a barrage of Flash Cannon. Unfortunately, the attacks are barely slowing Puddle down.

Riley and Volkner are now at a stalemate. While metagross is able to defend itself from Puddle's attacks effectively, its own attacks are barely doing much damage to Puddle. Metagross needs to raise its own offensive powers somehow, or lower Puddle's defence.

The old-fashioned way it is.

"Metal Claw, don't let up!"

Metagross immediately flew in and slash at Puddle with a series of Metal Claws, which Puddle responded with a wall of flames with Flamethrower. The fire type attack didn't do much damage to metagross thanks to its use of Light Screen and metagross continued its onslaught.

"Surf!"

Another tidal wave attempts to wash metagross away but Riley already has a plan to counter that.

"Icy Wind!"

The wall of water froze immediately and metagross broke through it with a Meteor Mash to continue its attacks on Puddle with Metal Claw. Puddle looks visibly annoyed and tried to freeze metagross with a Blizzard, only for metagross to dispel the attack with an explosive Shadow Ball.

"Thunder Punch!"

The effect of metagross's Thunder Punch this time is a lot more obvious since metagross's offensive powers had heightened considerably after so many repeated usages of Metal Claw. It did significant damage on Puddle but is still not enough to bring it down. It only serves to enrage the massive gyarados further.

"Payback!"

A devastating smash from Puddle nearly took metagross out of the count if it didn't use a Reflect at the last second. Riley clicked his tongue in frustration. Puddle is simply too good at defending itself against most attacks. Thunder Punch is metagross's best move against Puddle and Riley had hoped that after having metagross's offensive powers raised by repeated usages of Metal Claw, it is enough to bring Puddle down in one single hit. Clearly, he had underestimated just how much punishment Puddle can take.

But Puddle's size works against it as well. Being as big as it is also meant that Puddle is near hopeless when it comes to dodging attacks in an enclosed area like the location in which they are now holding their battle. Metagross is barely standing as it is, just one more direct hit will take it out. However, the Thunder Punch that metagross had delivered had also inflicted a significant amount of damage on Puddle. This can be an opportunity for Riley and metagross to take Puddle out before it can heal itself up with Rest.

Volkner and Puddle didn't give the duo any extra time to think as Puddle shot a Brine at metagross.

"Dodge it, then get close and trap it with Reflect!"

Knowing what its trainer is trying to accomplish, metagross skated sideways with help of its psychic powers, narrowly dodging Puddle's Brine. It created walls of Reflect that surrounded itself and Puddle on all sides, trapping them together in a small enclosed space face-to-face.

"Get out of there! Break down the walls with Brutal Swing!"

"Thunder Punch!"

Metagross kept up the pressure, not allowing Puddle any chances to heal itself. A powerful Thunder Punch disrupted Puddle's attempt in freeing itself and further reducing its health. Riley himself has a gyarados, he knows that Puddle's species is unable to learn Brick Break and break through the walls of Reflect erected by metagross. He will use that to his advantage. Reflect may be a defensive move by creating psychic walls to mitigate physical damage, but it can also be used for trapping enemies as well if utilised properly.

Now, Puddle has nowhere to run.

Riley commanded metagross to use Volkner's favourite trick against him with Flash, temporarily blinding Puddle from the light. With that, Puddle is temporarily unable to put up any form of defence against metagross's next move for a short moment. Riley has confidence that metagross's next move will be able to take out the massive gyarados since it has been weakened enough.

They are going to take down Puddle, and they are going to beat Volkner.

**"Explosion!"**

A deafening boom shook the arena and the psychic barriers protecting the onlookers temporarily fizzled out of existence. Everyone had to take cover behind the metal walls behind their respective stands from metagross's final attack.

When the smoke finally cleared, it was visibly obvious that metagross is unable to continue battling after using Explosion. However, it had taken Puddle down with it as well. Volkner and Puddle were obviously not expecting such a suicidal and bold move to be used on them. If it wasn't the element of surprise, Riley wasn't even sure if metagross's Explosion would have worked.

Volkner still has three more pokemon left while he only has one. Jo and Franky are a given since they already appeared for battle earlier, but the last pokemon Volkner might send out is still an unknown.

Despite the odds, Riley still has confidence that his last and strongest member is able to snatch him the win. His starter is way stronger than the rest of his team that were brought down by Volkner and his pokemon. All of his previous failures will culminate into his victory today against his mentor, he is sure of it.

Volkner send out Jo for battle once more as Riley send out his starter, lucario.

"Extreme Speed!"

Lucario disappeared in a blur and kicked at Jo, who had no time to defend itself from the attack.

"Thunder Wave!"

"Bone Rush, destroy it!"

Like how Riley had trained his lucario to defend against electric type attacks, lucario's Bone Rush is sufficient to render Jo's Thunder Wave useless before it charged straight at Jo once more. Jo evaded the incoming Power-Up Punch with a Detect before trying to take lucario down with a Thunderbolt. That attempt failed as lucario simply destroyed the Thunderbolt with an Aura Sphere.

"Force Palm!"

Jo is obviously outclassed by lucario's speed even with Agility active and it doesn't have the required firepower needed to take lucario down. It is a matter of time before lucario defeats it.

It's here, his chance of victory.

"Take the Force Palm, Charm and Captivate!"

Even when Jo was brought down by lucario's second use of Force Palm, Riley knew that the next battle will be a hard one due to the effects of both Charm and Captivate that Jo had pulled off before it fainted. Both moves had drastically reduced lucario's offensive capabilities. He can raise it back up again by commanding lucario to use moves like Swords Dance or Nasty Plot, but he is sure that Volkner will not give him the chance to do so.

"Not bad, Riley. I can't remember the last time I was in a battle, down to only two pokemon left from my main team, and who my opponent wasn't Flint. You had really improved." Volkner said with a large grin on his face as he tossed a pokeball up and down on his right hand.

"It's all thanks to your teachings, Mr Tide. However, **_I_** am going to win this battle."

"Oh? Show me then, the results of your training." Volkner said in reply as he threw the pokeball in his hand into the air to release his next pokemon for battle.

Whatever Riley was expecting, he wasn't expecting Volkner to send out Fluffy.

When Riley had left the Sunyshore gym years back, Fluffy is nowhere near the level of Volkner's main team. For Volkner to send it out _now_ will mean that Fluffy had at least reached that required level, or maybe even grew strong enough to match even Franky. Volkner knows very clearly just what his lucario is capable of. Even back then, only Franky had a solid chance to bring down his lucario.

"You know, I'm surprised that you haven't used Mega Evolution yet. Your absol, salamence, and metagross are all able to Mega Evolve, yet you didn't use it. Should have known that you were saving it for lucario."

"Aren't you the same, Mr Tide?"

Volkner's only answer was to reveal the Key Stone embedded on a bracelet he hidden under the long sleeves of his jacket.

"Don't hold back on me now, Riley. Fluffy is stronger than she looks."

On a silent cue, both master and student invoked Mega Evolution at the same time as their respective pokemon met each other head on for battle.

**"MEGA EVOLUTION!"**

The dust around the two pokemon were blasted away from them due to the sudden eruption of power. Mega lucario was immediately in front of Fluffy after experiencing the process of Mega Evolution, determined to help its trainer beat his mentor.

Mega lucario started off with a Power-Up Punch, only to find its fists partially buried in a wall of soft, yellow cotton.

"**_Get out of there_**, mega lucario! **NOW**!"

Mega lucario got out of its predicament with an Extreme Speed just as a Thunder crashed down on its previous location. Fluffy, now a mega ampharos, smirked back confidently at mega lucario. Fluffy's expertise in using Cotton Guard is already proving to be a big problem for mega lucario and its physical moves, like how it had defended herself from the Power-Up Punch earlier.

"Aura Sphere!"

A barrage of Aura Spheres bombard itself against Fluffy, who calmly raised a wall of Light Screen before detonating the Aura Spheres prematurely with a massive Discharge that blew up the entire arena. When the dust and light had died down, both mega-evolved pokemon are exchanging fire as lightning and aura-based attacks were thrown around in such a violent manner that shook the entire gym, each pokemon trying to outdo the other.

Fluffy suddenly charged in and smacked mega lucario with a Thunder Punch, sending mega lucario hurtling back and cracking the ground underneath them.

"Dragon Pulse!"

Mega lucario righted itself in mid-air before it let loose a massive beam of draconic energy. Fluffy is now also a dragon type thanks to her Mega Evolution, Fluffy now has a weakness to dragon type attacks.

Fluffy's answer to that Dragon Pulse was a massive Charge Beam so huge that it could have been mistaken for a Thunder. The resulting explosion knocked both pokemon backwards from the impact.

"Mega lucario, Earthquake!"

"Fluffy, to the air!"

Fluffy managed to levitate herself with Magnet Rise just before the Earthquake went off. Arcs of electricity that originated from the gem on her head raced towards mega lucario, who recognised the hidden threat the Thunder Waves posed and immediately destroyed them with Flash Cannon. It then jumped into the air to hit Fluffy with a Meteor Mash, only for Fluffy's Cotton Guard to get in its way once more. However, this time, mega lucario's arm is stuck in the wall of cotton that was produced when Fluffy puffed herself up with Cotton Guard.

"You are too hasty, Riley. Fluffy, Zap Cannon! End this!"

"Mega lucario, Vacuum Wave!"

A wave of pure vacuum blasted at Fluffy from mega lucario's palm that is stuck in the Cotton Guard, making her cry out in pain as she was forcefully blasted backwards by an unseen force. Mega lucario didn't let up and fired more Dragon Pulses at Fluffy, who is still reeling from the effect of the Vacuum Wave impacting against her at such close range. The Dragon Pulses found their mark, dealing significant damage onto Fluffy.

Mega lucario suddenly twisted out of the way when a Thunder fell upon it from above without any prior warning. The rain clouds are somehow back again, and mega lucario is suddenly forced to be on the defensive as massive columns of Thunders struck down without any mercy. One of the attacks scored a glancing blow on mega lucario, whose fur on its left side is now singed from the attack.

"Disperse the clouds with Flash Cannon!"

Mega lucario's attack was intercepted by another Thunder falling out from the clouds with Fluffy directing the attacks from afar. Riley clicked his tongue as he weighed his options.

"Take Fluffy out before it can summon more Thunders! Extreme Speed!"

Mega lucario disappeared in a blur of blue and yellow and appeared right behind Fluffy with a Dragon Pulse forming between its paws, ready to be fired.

"Dragon Pulse!"

Mega lucario fired its Dragon Pulse upon the order, only to hit a wall of psychic barriers which Riley recognised as Light Screen. Fluffy didn't get away unscathed as some of the damage from the attack got through, but they had been significantly dampened by the Light Screen.

A ghostly ray of energy burst out from Fluffy and Riley gripped the handrails in agitation. _That was Confuse Ray!_

"Hyper Beam!"

Using a normal type move on a steel type like his mega lucario? Mega lucario can take a Hyper Beam from even a pokemon as strong as Fluffy, no problems. It is a chance for him and mega lucario to take Fluffy down.

"Brave through the attack! Take Fluffy down with Ice Punch!"

When a massive beam of energy was fired from Fluffy, Riley knew that he had messed up. It is definitely not just a Hyper Beam. All he took was a split second to identify what had changed.

"Mega lucario! Switch to Protect!"

He had forgotten to account for the fact that Fluffy knows Ion Deluge, a move that converts all normal type attacks to electric types. It is not a common move to encounter in battle, so it had slipped his mind. Fluffy's Hyper Beam is now an electric type move and his mega lucario has no resistance to it. His steel-fighting dual typing offers no protection against an electric type move, especially for one as strong as an electrified Hyper Beam.

Fluffy didn't let up as she continue to fire the Hyper Beam at mega lucario, who is fighting through the confusion it is suffering from the previous Confuse Ray and somehow managed to erect a shield of Protect at the last minute. However, that doesn't prevent it from being pushed backwards to the edge of the arena from the blast. Fluffy is strong enough to not need any time to recharge from firing Hyper Beams after Hyper Beams consecutively.

"Thunder!"

The Hyper Beam was suddenly cancelled. Fluffy proved herself to be capable of continuing to fire attacks without needing to pause or rest as numerous Thunders rained down from the clouds, striking at mega lucario whose reactions were too slow to put up any form of resistance. The Confuse Ray did a sufficient job to mess with its senses.

To Riley's horror, his mega lucario was also inflicted with a paralysed status when the Thunders subsided, as can be visibly seen when erratic sparks of electricity covered his pokemon.

"Zap Cannon!"

Mega lucario won't have the necessary speed to get out of there given the paralysis inflicted on it. The only way out is to fight back.

"**_Flash Cannon_**! Destroy the attack!"

The arena exploded once more in a brilliant light of yellow and white, forcing everyone to shield their eyes with their hands to prevent the light from blinding them. When the light died down, only Fluffy's silhouette can be seen through the smoke. She waved her tail once, which produced enough force to clear the smoke instantly and allows the spectators to see the final result.

Riley's lucario lay defeated at the bottom of a huge crater on the ground. Its mega-evolved form had receded the moment it had been knocked unconscious. Byron called the match after seeing that lucario is unable to continue battling.

**"Riley's lucario is unable to battle, victory goes to Volkner!"**

Riley recalled his starter back to its pokeball, whispering his thanks to his long-time friend and companion. He is a little disappointed at the results, but they had done their best. This is the best result that they had produced so far in their battles against Volkner.

It proved that they had progressed. It is something to be happy about.

"Good job, Riley. That was fun." Volkner said as he walked up to him to shake hands, a gesture Riley reciprocated. "You have really come a long way."

"Thanks, Mr Tide. I wouldn't have gotten this far without your guidance."

"Heh, that was indeed a good battle. Kid could become a Gym Leader with that strength. All we need now is an open slot." Byron said with a guffaw as he joined them.

"Mine will always be open." Volkner added with a sly look on his face.

"You know the League will never relinquish their hold on you." Byron retorted to Volkner's words. "From what I know, you are supposed to replace Bertha when she retires."

"_Urgh_, no thanks." Volkner shuddered a little at the comment. "Being an Elite Four member means that I will not be able to slack around and it also means that Cynthia will always be on my case. I rather be a Gym Leader if that is the case."

"That was a good match." Jasmine applauded Riley's performance too as she walked up to join them. "Not many can push Volk to this extent, Thirteen Pillar or not. Even I am not confident in my abilities to push him this far."

Riley accepted her kind words with a nod of his head. Somehow, he has the feeling that he had saw this woman before. She looks vaguely familiar. But _where and when_ had he seen her before?

"Don't sell yourself short, Jas. Facing your team in battle is a real pain."

Jasmine only gave Volkner a sweet smile at the praise as she handed his cap back to him. The love Volkner have for Jasmine is clear in his eyes as he put the cap back on his head before turning back to Riley and Byron.

Well, this side of his mentor is definitely a side that Riley had never seen before.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but we _are_ on a **_vacation_**." Volkner continued with a yawn. "Jas and I should really be heading to our next destination."

"Enjoy your vacation, Mr Tide. Thank you for taking the time off to indulge my request for a battle."

"No worries." Volkner gave him a pat on the back and the usual smile on his face. "The next time we battle, I'm expecting a greater challenge from you, Riley."

"I will defeat you the next time."

"Looking forward to it." Volkner said with a huge grin before he turned to Byron.

"Thanks for hosting."

"No problems. Enjoy your vacation." Byron answered with a hearty laugh as Volkner and Jasmine both said their farewells before heading out of the gym.

"What are you frowning for?"

"Huh?" Riley snapped out of his thoughts when Byron's large hand landed on his shoulder. "Just… I have a feeling that Jasmine feels really familiar, like I had seen her somewhere before, but I cannot remember where or when…"

"She's the Gym Leader of Olivine." Byron said with a shrug. "The Iron Wall of Olivine, Jasmine Terbium. Ever heard of her?"

Riley's eyes widened in realisation and disbelief. He was talking to a _Gym Leader_ all along?! A _Steel Specialist_ similar to Byron at that?! Those are rare!

"Close your mouth, kid. A zubat might find its way inside if you continue to keep it hanging." Byron teased good-naturedly. "Jasmine has that effect on people. She somehow is able to maintain a low profile despite being a Thirteen Pillar herself. Sometimes I wish I have that same ability."

"_What…How…_" Riley stuttered as he struggled to form a coherent sentence.

"If you are asking me how the two got together, I have no freaking clue." Byron said as he let his excadrill out to help mend the destroyed arena with his ground type techniques. He grabbed Riley by his arm before dragging him to the pokemon center.

"Come on, since you are free, you might as well be my punching ba- _I mean_, sparring partner for today." Byron quickly corrected himself as the two exited the gym. "If you want to improve and stand a better chance against **_Volkner_** of all people, then you need to be accustomed to fighting people on the strength level of a Gym Leader. Like me, for example. Hate to break it to you, kid, but Volkner and his team definitely wasn't using their full strength. If he was serious, he would have ended the battle with you with probably only two pokemon on his main team fainting, tops. My gym would be destroyed within the first three minutes if he really went all out. He and his team toned down their power because it had been a long time since they had such an exciting fight. It's easy to tell that they just wanted to enjoy as much as possible because it is rare for them to find anyone that can give them a good challenge. Where others fight with their _full strength_ to _win_, that lazyass had to _tone down_ his power to _enjoy_ a battle. That's how crazy strong Volkner is. That genius is on a whole other level from us mortals."

Riley nodded in agreement and quickly kept up his pace with Byron. Of course, he had felt that as well in their battle. Volkner is so strong that he and his team had to tone down their power to be able to enjoy a satisfying battle with him. It was a surprise that Puddle was taken down at all and it was the first big clue that Volkner wasn't being entirely serious in that battle. The second clue was when he purposely sent out Fluffy to battle his lucario when Franky is more than capable for the job. There was no need for Volkner to reveal his sixth member for their battle, he probably just wanted to pit his own mega-evolved pokemon with his mega lucario. Volkner did tell him after all that it is up to him to force him to go all out. He did manage that, to an extent. The intensity of the battle started heating up slowly as it drags on, but Riley knew he had only truly managed to get Volkner to be fully serious when lucario mega-evolved.

Such opportunities to battle against a Gym Leader at their full strength are rare to come by. Riley knows that it had always been Volkner's intention for him to surpass himself. He wants to groom Riley into his successor since he has the potential. It was obvious from how Volkner had been teaching him during his days as Volkner's apprentice.

Riley adjusted the hat sitting on his head while walking beside Byron as he reaffirmed his decision. His mentor is strong, but that shouldn't discourage him. It just makes him want to defeat Volkner even more, to defeat his mentor at his full strength. He will become so strong that Volkner will be forced to take him seriously in battle right from the start.

He will surpass his mentor.

He will shine brighter than the Sun of Sunyshore.

* * *

**AN: I have nothing much to say here other than two things. One: As of now, I probably will be going with my series of reincarnated ocs pokemon fic that will all take place in the same universe and timeline. IJWTTTW, TSoS, and Ordinary Researcher (new fic, go check it out if you are interested) will be in there. I already have most of the characters' backstories planned out and I had worked out a way to incorporate them into one massive story that can be read as a whole or individually. As of now, I don't see a reason to not do it. The only problem I have is trying to craft a suitable character to be the last member of the seven. I tried two totally different ocs in my spare time, but I had no idea on how it could work beyond the introduction and complement well with the other six. I will see how it goes.**

**The second thing is I hoped that you guys had enjoyed this battle scene. I know most of you had been dying to see Volkner battling with his main team because if I am a reader I would be dying to see it too. So, here it is. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.**

**In any case, I hoped you enjoy this chapter.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1) ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2) ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3) ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4) ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5) ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6) ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7) ****Probopass (North), female**

**8) ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9) ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10) ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11) ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12) ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13) ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14) ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15) ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16) ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17) ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2) ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3) ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4) ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5) ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6) ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7) ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8) ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9) ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10) ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11) ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12) ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13) ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14) ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement:**** Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Magmortar (Burner), male**

**2) ****Infernape (Might), male**

**3) ****Houndoom (Bel), female**

**4) ****Flareon (Flare), male**

**5) ****Rapidash (Flamel), male**

**6) ****Talonflame (Soar), female**

**7) ****Volcarona (Buzz), male**

**8) ****Chandelure (Wick), female**

**9) ****Turtonator (Fuse), female**

**Cynthia Shirona: Sinnoh Champion, Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Champion of Sinnoh, Pokemon Master, Sinnoh's strongest Generalist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Undefeatable Queen**

**Pokemon team:**

**1) ****Garchomp**

**2) ****Roserade**

**3) ****Spiritomb**

**4) ****Lucario**

**5) ****Milotic**

**6) ****Gastrodon**

**7) ****Togekiss**

**8) ****Glaceon**

**9) ****Braviary**

**10) ****Eelektross**

**Byron Gallium: The Gym Leader of Canalave, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Sinnoh's strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Man of Steel, Shield of Canalave**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Bastiodon**

**2) ****Magnezone**

**3) ****Steelix**

**4) ****Skarmory**

**5) ****Aggron**

**6) ****Bronzong**

**7) ****Forretress**

**8) ****Excadrill**

**9) ****Kabutops**

**10) ****Armaldo**

**Riley Slyde: Generalist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Champion of 529th Lily of the Valley Conference, Deputy Head of Security of Sinnoh Police Force, Volkner's previous apprentice**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1) ****Lucario**

**2) ****Absol**

**3) ****Ursaring**

**4) ****Metagross**

**5) ****Salamence**

**6) ****Poliwrath**

**7) ****Rhyperior**

**8) ****Gyarados**

**9) ****Toxicroak**


	14. Chapter 14- Stark Mountain

"This is the life, Jas. No phone calls, no battling snot-nosed trainers, just you and me here on the beach enjoying the sun, the sea, and the drinks."

Jasmine let out a small laugh from where she is lying down on a beach chair next to Volkner. They are both on a private beach at the Resort Area, located on an island in the north of mainland SInnoh. It is a luxurious place where the rich will go for their vacation. Given how much they both earned as Gym Leaders, they are definitely both qualified as rich people.

The couple bathed in the rays of the early morning sun for a little longer, enjoying the lazy atmosphere as their pokemon frolic around on the beach near them. Like Volkner said, no work-related phone calls, no training, no entertaining gym challenges, no duties, just spending some quality time with each other and enjoying themselves.

This is really their long-awaited vacation.

Volkner took a sip of the cocktail before placing it back on the small table beside him, adjusting the sunglasses that he wore over his eyes to ensure that he didn't get blinded by the sun while sunbathing. She isn't a fan of alcohol, so her drink is a simple but refreshing juice that is a nice mix of various fruits and berries.

She adjusted her own sunglasses as she peered at the beach to ensure that her team didn't accidentally destroy something. Her pokemon sometimes underestimated just how strong they are. A casual swing of their arms or tails might break a tree or two if they are not careful.

Satisfied that her pokemon are not up to any unruly behaviour yet, she scooted over to Volkner's side and wrapped her arms around him. She can feel his arm around her waist as well. She is usually not a touchy-feely person. Far from that, really. She usually doesn't like having physical contact with just anyone that isn't her family, but being around Volkner always helps her to relax. She likes to cuddle with him. Maybe it is also because their relationship had been stuck in the awkward stage of '_friends-but-actually-more-than-just-friends_' for so long that the moment they finally expressed their feelings for each other, they are fine with intimate physical contact almost from the get-go. For someone as shy as her, she had thought that it would be awkward to get so intimate with him straight away and that they would need to 'warm up' to each other, to get used to the sudden change in their relationship, but she found it alright. It's like she finally found the missing piece in her life.

"You know, since we are already at the beach, it would be a waste if we don't do some water activities." Volkner said in that lazy tone of his while she closed her eyes and rested her head near the crook of his neck.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked a little sleepily, the lazy atmosphere in the air today makes her a little unwilling to even move a single finger. It's not every day that she is able to get uninterrupted rest.

"How about water skiing?"

"Water skiing?" She raised her head and looked at her boyfriend questionably.

"Glowy and I do that sometimes on the sea around Sunyshore when we have the free time." Volkner explained. "I have a harness that I will put on her and she will pull me along while she swims as I hold onto the cable with the skis on my feet. I brought the equipment along just in case we might need it. It's fun, trust me."

She bit the inside of her cheeks. She had never been a sporty person even if her physical fitness is just fine. She had always steered clear away from any form of extreme sports.

"Come on, you should try it. Who knows, you might love it."

"I have a feeling that I will regret this, Volk."

"Never know till you try, right?"

* * *

**SPLASH!**

She swam to the surface before coughing out the seawater that she had accidentally drank in. This is the _ninth_ attempt at trying to water ski for anything more than ten seconds before falling off. She is getting a little sick of the falling part.

"You are doing great, Jas!"

She honestly doesn't think that she is doing that great of a job.

Glowy swam back to her and allows her to cling on its body to get a short rest as they floated on the sea not far from the beach. Volkner is standing on Puddle, who is just floating nearby and snoozing away in the sun near where she is.

"I don't think I am suited for this, Volk." She said with a sigh as he hoisted her up with a hand and helped her climb onto Puddle. She briefly readjusted her bikini and sat down beside Volkner, taking a break from trying out water skiing.

"Well, at least you tried." He said as Glowy leapt from the waters with a powerful flick of her tail and landed on Puddle's still form before hopping comically towards Volkner. Volkner helped to unbuckle the harness on her as he folded the water-skiing equipment back to its portable form.

Jasmine lay down on her back as she used her right arm to cover her eyes from the sun. She had put on a thick layer of sunblock beforehand, so she isn't afraid of getting sunburnt. Still, she thinks that there are probably better things to do for their vacation than spending the entire day on the beach. But what else is there to do on this island?

"The sun is getting hotter. It must be nearing noon." Volkner mused as she shifted her arm over her eyes a little to take a peek at him. "Want to head back?"

"Might as well." She conceded. They can always come back here another day anyway. Maybe they can make a visit to the beach an every morning affair throughout the duration of their vacation here? That sounds like a nice idea.

They made their way back to the beach where they collected their stuff and recalled some of their bigger pokemon back into their pokeballs. They then walk back to their villa together barefooted with their pokemon around them, walking at a slow leisurely pace as they enjoy the sea breeze blowing at them as they held hands.

"Anything you want to eat for lunch?"

"There is a restaurant near the entrance of the Resort Area. It looks like it serves some nice food." She suggested as she wriggled her toes a little, enjoying the touch of the smooth white sand beneath her feet.

"Sounds good. I'm still thinking about what we should do later after lunch though, we had nearly explored everything we can during our first three days here. I'm thinking that maybe we should visit somewhere else?"

"Let's think about that after we had our bath." She said with a yawn.

"You mean bathing together?" Volkner asked hopefully before dodging to a side to avoid a step to his toes. She can feel her face flushing up again at Volkner's suggestion. While she has no problems with them kissing and cuddling with each other, her take towards relationship had always been on the conservative side. She is not yet comfortable with that idea. She knows Volkner is being his usual joking self and that suggestion is just that, a joke. He knows her personality inside out and she knows he would never suggest anything that she is uncomfortable with.

She knows it takes a lot for her to come out of her shell. That's why she's glad that she has Volkner with her. He never forces her to do anything she doesn't like to do but yet, always encourages her to try something new that she will not be totally averse to. With him around, trying to get out of her comfort zone is a lot easier.

"Just kidding, Jas."

"I know. I just want to step on your toes." She said in mock anger and gave him a pout. "All is forgiven if you let me step on them."

A look of mock horror crossed his face.

"What did my toes ever do to you?"

"It just feels fun to do so."

"Is that a weird fetish that I hear? Cos I don't think I ever come across something like that before, Jas."

"I'm your girlfriend now, deal with it."

* * *

They ate their lunch at the restaurant she said that she wanted to try out. It was halfway during their lunch when Volkner received a text message that made him frown.

"What is it?" She asked in curiosity as she took another bite at her meal.

"Flint is asking for me to check on Stark Mountain. Did he forget that I am on a _holiday_? Why am I still saddled with League related affairs on my holiday?"

"Stark Mountain?"

"The name has the word 'mountain' in it, but Stark Mountain is in actuality a dormant volcano at the far north of this island. The locals here say that it is the home to the legendary heatran, although no one had seen it for close to two centuries. Flint said that recent intel suggests that Team Galactic might be targeting heatran as well, and since I am already here, he is asking me to help out to check on Stark Mountain. I'm just going to tell him to send someone else. I am on a _holiday_. I mean, I am not the only Gym Leader in Sinnoh! Why is everyone relying on me to do everything?! They could send in the Special Forces too!"

"Heatran?" She said with a tilt of her head. As a Steel Specialist, she is interested in catching a glimpse of the legendary steel-fire type pokemon. No other pokemon have that particular dual typing as far as she knows.

Exploring Stark Mountain may not be that bad of an idea after all. The last time they explored a volcano together, it was the one in Cinnabar. Why not go on another adventure? This time in Sinnoh.

"I really don't mind exploring the mountain." She said and she saw how her boyfriend giving her a look that screams '_Are you **serious**?_'. "I really want to see heatran, even if that chance is slim. And doesn't it feel like our Cinnabar trip all over again? Exploring a volcano, I mean."

"I guess you are right." Volkner scratched his head in thought. "I just don't like how everyone seems to be disrupting our vacation. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. First true vacation in five years and I cannot even get a break."

She doesn't know what to say to comfort him, because he is right that it is a little too much for the Sinnoh League to be bothering him when this is the first true vacation that he has in five years. He doesn't even want to be a Gym Leader in the first place. The only thing she can do is to show him her support when she reached for his hand and gave it a light squeeze. He gave her a thankful look in return.

"Well, let's tell Flint our decision then."

* * *

She's thankful that the heat in Stark Mountain isn't as unbearable as what they had experienced in Cinnabar.

They are both wearing casual clothing with matching dark blue long-sleeved shirts complete with jeans. Volkner is wearing a cap to hide his bright blonde hair since he doesn't want to be recognised in public when he is on vacation in his own region. He usually also has a pair of sunglasses to complete the look, but he had taken it off the moment they entered Stark Mountain. Their current attire is the lightest they can go to help them with dealing with the heat.

Despite that, the heat they are feeling is still unbearable. The only solace they can take is that the heat here is not as unbearable as the one they remembered facing at Cinnabar.

Tec and Whirr strolled beside them. Tec's rocky armour protects him from the heat and Whirr's Levitate ability means that he can float in mid-air without support, preventing him from burning himself when he comes into contact with the hot stone floor in the interior of the volcano. Jasmine herself have Magny and Bronzy with her who are also able to levitate with their own power.

They slowly explored the interior of the volcano, checking every nook and cranny for any signs of Team Galactic. Even after two hours, they found nothing other than the usual wild pokemon taking residence within the volcano.

"I guess this is a false alarm." Volkner mused as they walked towards the last cavern in the volcano. "No signs of anything other than lots of zubats, geodudes, rhyhorns, the occasional magbys, etcetera and their evolutionary lines."

"And a lot of sweat." Jasmine half-joked. The two of them are drenched in their perspiration from exploring the volcano for close to two hours. "I don't care what you say, we are teleporting out of Stark Mountain once we are done."

"Did you just use Mind Reader? Because you totally read my mind there, Jas."

Their banter was cut short when they entered the last cavern and spotted a group of people they _really_ do not want to see right now.

"Oh, _come on_." Volkner muttered as they both quickly hide themselves out of sight. The Team Galactic grunts did not seem to have spotted them yet. "Just when we were about to leave too."

The two of them cautiously peered out of the large boulder that they had hidden themselves behind. Jasmine did a quick estimation in her head, spotting about 50 Team Galactic grunts in here.

That is quite a sizable number of Galactics right here.

"Search harder! The Magma Stone must be here somewhere!"

"Magma Stone?" Jasmine whispered her question to her boyfriend when they heard one of the grunts barking out orders. "What is that?"

"Not anything good." Volkner has a concerned frown on his face, looking genuinely worried. "It is just a stuff of legends, but according to the locals, the Magma Stone is supposedly a rock with untold power. Legends said that it is a stone formed when boulders melted in extremely hot magma, then hardened. The process repeats itself over and over again until all that is left is a rock that is made of very pure magma. The pure liquid magma remains sealed inside while the exterior hardens, forming a hard shell to contain it. The description kind of reminds me of an egg, if you ask me."

"So? What makes that so valuable?"

"The catch is that a Magma Stone is said to be able to control the legendary Heatran. Don't know how true that is, but I don't want to find out the hard way. I won't be surprised if there really is a Magma Stone here in Stark Mountain. It **_is_** a volcano after all."

Jasmine sighed. They just can't seem to catch a break even on their holiday.

"How long do you think we will need to take to bring them down?"

"Hopefully? 15 minutes or less, considering it is 2 vs 50 here and we are inside a _volcano_. Realistically, expect the duration to be much longer if there are any skilled trainers in their ranks. I'm hoping the cavern will not collapse on us when we are fighting it out later."

"The only thing I am hoping is that the volcano will not erupt while we are here."

"That too. I am calling for reinforcements. Jarvis." Volkner brought up his poketch closer to his face as he gave his loyal porygon-z his command. "Tell Flint what we have found here. Ask him to hurry with it."

"What do you need me to do?" Jasmine asked. Dealing with criminal organisations is Volkner's specialty, not hers. It will be wise to ask him for advice.

"As far as I can see, there is only one entrance to this cavern which is also the only exit. Guard the exit and make sure these idiots don't escape. I will handle the rest. Refrain from using your larger pokemon and more destructive moves if you can help it."

"Got it." She whispered back before looking at Volkner's face. He gave her a curious look when he spotted her gaze.

"Yes?"

"Stay safe." She gave him a light peck on the cheek and took great satisfaction when he started to blush a little from the unexpected gesture. Who's the blushing one now? She's so going to tease him for it later.

"You too."

The couple quickly took their positions. Volkner made a flashy entrance when he recalled Tec, then threw his pokeball high up into the air and landed it in the middle of the group of Team Galactic grunts. The hulking rhyperior announced his presence with a savage bellow, sweeping his large tail across the cave with an Iron Tail and knocking many grunts out in a single blow.

Volkner released his entire team save Puddle, who is too large to be released here unless they want to bring the entire cavern down.

"Get them! Don't let a single one escape!"

Volkner's pokemon immediately leapt into action in flashes of yellow. A few of them remain by his side to act as his guards as Volkner and his team crushed any opposition systematically and ruthlessly, not allowing them a silver of a chance to fight back.

Jasmine spotted a few of the smarter ones abandoning the battle and heading towards the exit where she is.

"Bronzy, Gyro Ball."

Her bronzong spun on the spot before catapulting itself forward, knocking aside every grunt and their pokemon in its way. It then quickly used Hypnosis to put them into a forced sleep.

If there's one thing she learnt from Volkner, there's no such thing as a fair battle in mob battles like this. The faster the battle ends, the better. Knocking the trainer out before they can send out their pokemon is always more efficient than trying to engage them in a pokemon battle.

There is still some left who managed to call upon their pokemon and charged at her. She let out her team in response, leaving only Steely in her pokeball since she is too big and destructive to be released for battle here.

Her bastiodon, Bobby, let out a massive Flash Cannon that took down the opposing pokemon they faced as her forretress, Forest, slammed into any enemies it can find with Gyro Ball. The rest of her team weren't idle either as they made quick work of their foes.

There is a smell of ozone in the air followed by a crackling sound. She only managed to cover her ears with her hands just right before a massive Thunder struck down in the middle of the cavern with a deafening crash. A massive cloud of dust and smoke was thrown up into the air and Jasmine quickly barked at Skia, her skarmory, to disperse it.

_Didn't her boyfriend just told her to **NOT** use any destructive moves in the cavern?!_

With a powerful flap of her winds, the smoke was dispersed by Skia. Her boyfriend and his pokemon team stood in the middle, looking as though they are the victorious conquerors that just emerged from a war.

He looks quite dashing too, with the way he stood in confidence amidst the settling chaos and his shirt clinging onto his body due to his sweat.

But that Thunder was _totally unnecessary_. Her eardrums nearly exploded from having the Thunder occurring so close to her. What was he _thinking_?! If he was trying to impress her, then he has another thing coming.

_That showoff._

She really wants to berate him for being such a showoff, but then again, she has to admit that it worked on her. She was entranced by the earlier display.

"That was way quicker than expected, although I think it is mainly because they only sent the grunts out. The grunts aren't that good in combat." Volkner commented, which pulled Jasmine out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She reassured him and quickly glanced at Volkner to check him for any visible signs of injury. He seems to be unscathed. Thankfully, it looks like Team Galactic didn't managed to find the Magma Stone too. She can only pray that Heatran remains undisturbed by the commotion here and not erupt Stark Mountain with its powers in rage.

"What do we do now?"

"Wait for the SPF to show up and bring them in." Volkner told her as his pokemon began to pile up the unconscious bodies of Team Galactic grunts and their pokemon into two separate piles. Vik used a String Shot to tie them up even more tightly for extra measure.

Jasmine pinched her nose and moved away from Volkner when he stood closer to her.

"You stink." She complained and waved a hand to clear the air around her. Volkner is sweating too much and with it comes the horrible smell of his body odour.

"Jas~ You are breaking my heart here!" Volkner whined comically which got him an eye roll from his pokemon team. Franky bonked Volkner on the head to get his childish trainer in line.

"Ouch! Hey, Franky! What was that for!"

"Good job, Franky." Jasmine praised the electivire, who gave her a big smile in return.

"J-Jas!" Volkner looked as if he just paled and cracked into a million pieces at that comment. Jasmine pretended not to notice before she was reminded of something.

"Didn't you told me to **_not_** use the more destructive moves here? What was that Thunder for?"

"Uh…I can explain!" She can see him waving his hands frantically, trying to think of a plausible excuse as she narrowed her eyes.

"Explain to me after you are done here. I'm heading back first, _you_ wait here until the authorities arrive. That's what you get for nearly making my ears go deaf from that Thunder." She huffed in mock anger and motioned for Myst to come to her side, who did so immediately and teleported to stand beside her without a word. A knowing smirk is forming on Myst's face, he had probably already caught on to what she is planning.

"I will be waiting for you back at the villa!" She clapped her hands once happily as her team quickly gather by her side, realising what she is planning. "Bye, Volk! Say hi to Flint for me if he gets here!"

Volkner's eyes widened in realisation.

"W-Wait! It would take me forever to get out of Stark Mountain without Myst! Myst! Don't Teleport out of here without me, you hear me? I am your trainer! Remember the good times we spent together? Hey- hey!"

Jasmine waved a cheery goodbye to Volkner just as Myst starts to power himself up for a Teleport.

"J-Jas? JAS! DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!"

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the wait. I have no excuses, so I won't make any, I just hope that this short and slice of life chapter is enough to make up for the long period of silence.**

**I also recently just posted two new pokemon stories, Reach for the Skies and Rocket's Exterminator. I myself prefer Rocket's Exterminator, but that is my own bias speaking. Like TSoS and my other existing pokemon fics, they will all be happening in the same world.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521****st**** Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5\. ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. ****Probopass (North), female**

**8\. ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**1\. ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2\. ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3\. ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4\. ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5\. ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6\. ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7\. ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8\. ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9\. ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10\. ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11\. ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12\. ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13\. ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14\. ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**


	15. Chapter 15- Promise

"I am having a vacation, Cynthia. A VA-CA-TION. Do I need to spell it out for you? V,A,C,A,T,I,O,N. The first true vacation I have in five years and you are telling me that you are _cancelling_ it without my opinion? There are **THIRTEEN** of us for crying out loud! Why am **_I_** always the one stuck with cleaning up criminal groups?! What are the League's forces for?! Stand there and look pretty?!"

Jasmine peered through the crack in between the wall and the door of the room, which he probably forgot to close properly before having this heated conversation over the phone with who she presumes is Cynthia.

"What do you mean they _cannot handle it_? I trained them myself for **two** goddamn years by burning my weekends!"

Jasmine watched silently as Volkner paced about angrily in the room. What is this about?

"Okay, listen. I am _finally_ having a vacation with my girlfriend, a vacation that I should have gone on at least _three years_ ago. I had completed the paperwork for the vacation to be approved at least five months ago. Flint is supposed to watch over my city while I'm gone, I told him that more _than half a year_ ago. The city is able to survive an invasion even without me there. That was what I was helping the city to learn ever since I became a slave for the League. And **_now_** you are telling me I cannot even take a fucking vacation for _once_ in five years?"

Volkner did a roll of his eyes after listening to what Cynthia said in reply.

"Oh, what are you gonna do? Fire me? I would love that. Put me into prison? Is there _anyone_ capable of doing it that is not you? Are you even _able_ to do it?" Volkner pulled the phone away from his year and placed his phone barely half a centimetre away from his mouth.

"**I**, am the _only_ Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh that hasn't take a goddamn fucking break for once in _five years_. Even the rare times I visited my girlfriend in Johto is due to business purposes for the League that lasted three days at the most. You want to take down whoever? Take it down _yourself_. If you want to send League forces after me to cart me home, _be my guest_. You can even come _yourself_. We both know Puddle can go up against your garchomp mano a mano. Your ground type doesn't scare me."

Volkner took a deep breath before he growled out his last sentence.

"**_Stop_**. Relying on **_me_** for everything. I'm **_not_** your wonder cure to everything. Even I have my limits."

And with that, the call was swiftly ended. His expression immediately changed when he looked up and saw her looking at him in concern.

"Uh… I can explain."

"I think I saw enough to understand what is going on." She said as her arms wrapped around his neck. "Thank you, Volk."

"No problems."

"But if it is serious enough for Cynthia to personally call you, then you should go back."

He scoffed.

"No, that is where I draw the line. I have given enough."

"And if lives were lost because you weren't there?"

He snorted.

"I trained the League's Elites for _two years_ for every single weekend. I worked literally 24/7 without break for _five years_ to ensure that Sunyshore would not collapse the moment I stepped out of it. They can handle themselves. If they can't, then it was a waste of time trying to shape the city into something that it can never be."

"It is _your_ city, Volk. _Your_ home."

"_My_ home is with _you_. I don't care about the rest."

"Volk." Jasmine repeated his name to drive her point across with a slight frown on her face, even if his proclamation had made her a little happy.

His home is with her. That's what he said.

"Can we just _enjoy_ our vacation?" He sighed in exasperation. "I just want us to have some quality time alone, is that so hard to ask for?"

"Just what is it that they are calling you for anyway?"

Volkner huffed.

"The usual. A big syndicate is having ambitious plans to set up their HQ in my city, or something like that. I didn't really bother to listen to the details. I just know that someone is needed to root them out. Guess who got called for the job?"

"Wiping them out isn't so hard, right?"

"Tracking is the problem. Tracking all of them down is a headache even with Jarvis and Myst helping. Sunyshore's terrain is just too troublesome to navigate with all the mountains around."

Jasmine's frown deepened.

"Lend Jarvis to me for a moment. Then we can settle this problem that is bothering you, which in turn is bothering me, and we can all get back to doing what we want to do."

Volkner raised an eyebrow.

"You have an idea?"

"Are you _doubting_ **_me_**, Volkner Tide?" Jasmine asked by mimicking her boyfriend with her own raised eyebrow.

"No, uh, just curious."

"If you cannot track all of them down, then get them to come out by themselves. Just send them a false message. Telling them something that they cannot resist and they know is too good to be true, but will still come out anyway. Besides, I do want to learn how to take down criminal mobs better. I'm lucky that Olivine is very peaceful, but I might have to do something like that one day as Olivine's Gym Leader. You can teach me while you are at it."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you looked when you said that? You just made my mind go _Kaboom_."

Jasmine gave her lover a smirk.

"You just did. Can I borrow your Ampharosite later? I haven't tried Mega Evolution with Amphy before."

"Jas, combining Amphy and Mega Evolution is a **_bad_** idea. You know how much Amphy loves his explosions. You know what explosions are, right? You know, _kaboom_?"

"I know what explosions are-"

"Then all the more reason that I _super duper absolutely **cannot**_ lend _you_ and **_Amphy_**-"

"Volk~ Just once! Please?"

She cannot help but giggle at the sight of the resigned expression on his face when he sighed. He can never seem to refuse a request from her.

"You and Amphy are definitely a recipe for disaster. I'm actually kind of glad you are not an Electric Specialist. You and Amphy alone can easily blow up half the town even if Amphy isn't much of a battler. I'm not even talking about Mega Evolution here."

"Thanks Volk." She quickly sealed the deal by giving him a quick peck of the cheek. There's no way he can back out now. "The other half of your reward will come later. I promise."

He raised an eyebrow at her for a few seconds before giving another sigh.

"I have a feeling I'm gonna regret this."

* * *

"Alright, Teams 1 to 8, standby! We are going in after two minutes!"

The newest rookie to the team sees this as the perfect time to address the unsaid question hanging in the air.

"_Psst_, why is it just us this time? What happened to…" The rookie did an air quote motion with his fingers. "..._reinforcements from the Thirteen Pillars_?"

"No clue." One of the operatives shrugged as a response to his comrade's question, keeping their voice lower than a whisper to avoid getting caught by their team leader. "Volkner is usually here to help. He is the best the League has to offer when it comes to dealing with this kind of shit."

"Heard he is on vacation." Another added. "Flint is taking care of Sunyshore until he comes back."

"And where is Flint?"

"I dunno. Probably busy with something else. Wrong place at the wrong time. Stuck in a traffic jam. Overslept. Take your pick. I just know that these guys sure chose the right time to be missing."

"Man, now I don't feel that safe without a Gym Leader around to help."

"Feel you, bro." One of the more senior operatives whispered out to the rookie. "You are new, right? Have you ever seen them in action before? The power they have? It is **_unreal_**, let me tell you. There's this one mission I was on that Volkner was assigned to help us. Volkner actually blew a hole through the mountain with his electric types. You know the cute little pachirisu he uses for gym challenges?"

There was a collective nod of heads, and the senior operative continue speaking.

"It took down _dragons_. Fucking _dragons,_ I tell you. A **_pachirisu _**taking down _dragons_. His electivire reshaped the mountain peak over there."

Said mountain peak isn't that hard to spot given that a perfect sphere-shaped hole is fitted into it with the peak somehow still remaining. They can even see the clear blue sky through the hole from where they are, a good few kilometres away from said mountain. The unnatural formation is actually now a popular tourist attraction in Sunyshore for sightseeing given how perfectly shaped it is. If the image they are seeing is a 2D diagram, it is like having a perfectly shaped circle inside a triangle. Some of the locals even affectionately named the unique mountain peak as the 'Volkner's Peak'.

"Wow." The operative in question whistled out an expression of awe. "The fight must be quite a sight. Wish I could see it myself. Did it go, like, _kaboom_?"

"It went _kaboom_." His comrade answered with a nod, like he had just revealed the truth of the universe.

**"Why are you idiots chatting?!"** The operatives whispering behind jumped in fright as they were caught red-handed by their team leader. "Are you grandmas in your nineties gossiping in the market?! Get your asses back in gear! This is a **mission**! Let me catch you gossiping during missions _one more bloody time_, I will make you suffer the same fate as that mountain top and make you idiots go-"

**KABOOM!**

Like a deity had answered their earlier prayers to witness the impossible, the team watched in sheer disbelief as a nearby mountain top exploded with a huge surge of electricity. The entire team was sent skidding back from the force of the explosion even from how far they were. The din was so loud that they all have to cover their ears. The very earth itself trembled.

It is like Zekrom itself had descended.

"Ka-_Kaboom_?" One of the operatives whispered shakily, barely managing to stand from the fright of the power being thrown around.

A bestial roar was heard as a massive gyarados flew into the skies with many yellow streaks surrounding it. Flying right beside the mighty sea serpent is a humongous steelix of equal size.

"T-That's Volkner's gyarados, r-right? I-I thought Volkner wasn't free?"

"He wasn't free." Even their team leader was stumped as he let his team exchange murmurs among themselves. _What the hell just happened_?!

He threw that thought aside for the time being when he was being called for by the walkie he clipped onto his belt.

_"Team Alpha, mission has been completed. Target location had already been destroyed. Team Charlie will be going in to apprehend the criminals. There's nothing else for you to do here, return to base."_

"What? We didn't even do a thing! No offense, sir, but **_what_** in Arceus's name just-"

_"Volkner happened. He decided to take a detour back before going on his vacation again and only told us about it after that display. Just don't question our good luck and return. Volkner was pissed that he had to come back. **Very** pissed. And when he's pissed, **I'm** pissed. You don't want to piss me off even more than it already is. Just don't ask any more questions and just return to base."_

"I can tell, sir, from how he made the mountain top-"

_"Kaboom. I know. Just get your men back. HQ over and out."_

Well, HQ is right. In their line of work, just accept the good luck and move on.

* * *

"Hmm, that was surprisingly easy."

Jasmine hummed a happy tune as she and Volkner continued to fly back to their vacation spot with their pokemon's help. She passed the Ampharosite that she and Amphy had borrowed from Volkner back to him.

"Told you putting Amphy and Mega Evolution together is a bad idea. Where did he even get the love for explosions from?"

"I think he just spent too much time with Fluffy recently. But that was fun!"

"So _now_ it's Fluffy's fault? You two nearly gave me a _heart attack_ with that and now the _whole of Sinnoh_ is going to think that **_I_** was the one who did that. And where do you want to go next for our date?"

"Can we explode another mountain top? That was fun! I was thinking if I can get Magny to-"

"Jas, no."

"..._Please_?" Jasmine asked as she clasped her hands together and put on the best pleading eyes she can manage.

"No. There are only so many mountains in Sinnoh big enough for us to explode. I just put them on the 'Protect-Sinnoh's-Mountains-From-Going-Kaboom-Thanks-To-Jasmine' list. They are now being officially protected by yours truly as of two seconds ago."

"But, _kaboom_!"

"Kaboom is not something I want to encourage, especially not when I know almost everyone from our team can achieve that with enough motivation because we are just that strong. A Mega-Evolved Puddle could probably reshape Mt Coronet if he ever felt like it. Arceus would be pissed if that happened, and if Arceus is pissed, then this time it is the _entire **world**_ that will go kaboom."

The massive gyarados let out another excited roar as agreement, further emphasising Volkner's point.

"But it is **_kaboom_**!"

"Or." Volkner pulled her closer before leaning his face extremely close to her. "Instead of mountains, I can make _your mind_ go kaboom. I'm collecting the other half of my reward now."

"V-Volk!"

She was silenced when his lips captured hers in a searing hot and passionate kiss.

"Did that made you mind go kaboom?" He teased her when that finally ended, much to her dismay.

She nodded mutely as her mind is still in a daze. When she finally regained her senses, she tiptoed and wrapped her arms around his neck like how she loves to.

"Jas?"

Her eyes twinkled with mischief before she plans to continue where they left off. But before that, she has to say the magic word for extra effect, right before she returned the favour and made his brain halt like he did to her.

"Kaboom."

* * *

She never did get to try and explode another mountain top, but their vacation went smoothly without a hitch after that day. They got bored touring Sinnoh after a while, so they decided to head back to Olivine. Volkner was insistent on going back to Olivine before their vacation ended, saying that he should visit her parents at least once now that they are officially together.

It was sweet and thoughtful of him.

He had met them even before they got together, and her parents are happy for the both of them when she brought him back. They approve of him, much to her relief. Their vacation is coming to an end soon and they are spending the last few days of it in her hometown. The sun is shining brightly today and since both of them have no desire to venture anywhere too far out, they both decided to give their pokemon a good scrub because it has been a long time since any of them had done so for their pokemon friends.

Which leads them back to where they are now, a secluded area on Olivine's beach far away from the public eye.

"Alright, Glowy. Spray some water."

Steely gurgled in delight as both of them used a broom scrub to wash the soap off Steely's metal body while Glowy provided a steady stream of pressurised water. They had all gave each of their pokemon friends a bath. Steely is the last one left due to her large size. There wasn't a point in helping to give Puddle a bath since he swims in the sea almost all the time, but that didn't stop the both of them from helping the massive gyarados to scrub its gigantic body, scrubbing out any algae that had grown in between his scales.

The rest of their pokemon are now either resting on the beach or drying themselves. Prime had taken possession of an electric fan and is now using it to blow everyone dry or to cool off the heat they face from the blazing sun. Despite the soreness in her arms and the sweat dripping off her forehead, Jasmine can't help but smile. This is a nice change of pace in her life. She likes it when they both indulge in the one thing that they are both passionate about, taking care of pokemon.

Steely lay contently at where she is on the beach as the two trainers did their work, and it wasn't long before they are done rinsing off the soap on her huge metal body. Prime did a happy shriek as he left the electric fan he is in and possess a microwave they brought along. The both of them took a few steps back as Prime used the flames in his Heat Rotom mode to dry Steely off in the blink of an eye. Despite being a steel type, Steely wasn't the least bit bothered by the flames. For a steelix as powerful as her, it takes more than just normal flames for her to even feel anything from it.

"Guys, we need some extra hands over here!"

Jasmine gave a few claps of her hands to gather some of her steel types around her. Lucy brought along a huge metal tin of wax. It is a special type of wax that trainers will usually use to help their steel types maintain the pristine condition of their metal armour. She had already applied it to the rest of her steel types, Steely is the last one left. Steely's body is just too big for her and Volkner to do it alone. They will need some help.

A few of Volkner's pokemon had also enthusiastically volunteered themselves for the job. Scrat dived his little body into the wax tin, coating his body entirely with the substance. Volkner wasn't very pleased by Scrat's action considering that he had just helped scrub Scrat clean earlier.

"Scrat! _How many times_ have I told you about getting yourself dirty _right after_ I bathed you? I told you to use the **_cloth_**! Not your body!"

A wax covered Scrat gave a few squeaks of reply the moment he emerged from the tin.

"What do you mean I never told you that before?"

Scrat gave a little whine.

"_What_ do you mean having a small brain means having a way smaller memory? You sure as hell don't forget where you keep your berries- **GET _BACK_ HERE!** I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!"

Scrat simply ignored Volkner as he scampered off onto Steely's body, curled itself up, and proceed to use a Rollout. He is having fun as he rolled his wax covered self to and fro across Steely in his attempt to help wax the large metal serpent. At least Scrat is creative about it.

Volkner seemingly being able to converse with his electric types is nothing new to her. There are weirder things that she had seen in this world. There are people capable of using psychic powers like Sabrina, so although Volkner having the ability to converse with electric types had surprised her when she first learnt of it, she accepted it soon enough. In fact, she is a little envious that he can understand his pokemon to a certain extent.

Volkner had no idea how he came to have this ability too. According to him, this part of his peculiarity only extends to electric types. He doesn't understand a single word his electric types said to him, only somehow able to somewhat understand the message that they are trying to convey to him on an instinctual level. It was what made him decide to be an Electric Specialist instead of a Generalist not long after he first started out to be a trainer. It was partly why he had non-electric types like Myst, Puddle, North, and Tec, since he only decided to travel the road of an Electric Specialist after he got them.

The rest of them all took a piece of cloth and coated it with some of those wax. Half an hour later, Steely's hide became so shiny that the reflection of the sun rays actually hurt their eyes if they stared directly at it.

Another application of heat from Prime finished Steely's spa treatment for today. Steely rose to her full height and visually inspects her now shining bright body. Jasmine is happy that her long-time friend is pleased at the result and laughed when Steely lowered her huge head and gently nudged each of them in a gesture of thanks.

Meanwhile, Volkner had gotten his hands on the hyperactive Scrat, grabbing the struggling pachirisu by the back of his neck and letting Glowy spray a pressurised stream of water to wash the wax off while he scrubs Scrat's body again. Volkner grumbled something about 'disobedient pachirisus' under his breath the whole time. Scrat had his revenge when he purposely shook his body and sprayed droplets of water everywhere, getting everyone near him drenched.

"_That's it_, you little prankster. Get back here!"

Scrat let out a little squeak before jumping onto Jasmine's shoulders to seek refuge from Volkner's wrath. Volkner's eyes narrowed at the behaviour of the resident prankster on his team.

"You went too far this time, Scrat." Jasmine said in amusement as she held onto Scrat and passed him into Volkner's waiting hands (_or evil clutches in Scrat's eyes_). Scrat had a shocked look of betrayal on his cute little face and whined when Volkner pulled on his little ear and began to give the mischievous rodent a good tongue lashing. None of their pokemon were sympathetic to Scrat's plight, choosing to openly laugh at him instead.

"Can't believe our vacation is ending soon." Jasmine said wistfully as she stretched her arms to reduce the soreness she is feeling. "Who knows when our next vacation will be?"

"Two years."

"Huh?" Jasmine asked perplexedly as Volkner hugged her from behind and rest his head on her shoulders.

"Two years. I promise you that after two years, we wouldn't need to keep up with this long-distance relationship anymore. I will move to Johto and then we can see each other every day."

"The Sinnoh League won't relinquish their hold on you readily, Volk." Jasmine frowned a little at the thought of it. She doesn't like the somewhat authoritarian way they control Volkner, but she knows that there are not many options to refuse a direct order from your own Regional League and Government.

She had given a lot of thought to Volkner's predicament when he had just become a Gym Leader. No matter how she thought about it, Volkner could have refused the responsibility thrown at him five years ago if he stood his ground, but for some reason he didn't. He had never shared with her the reason for it too and she never asked. If he wanted her to know, he would have told her a long time ago. If he never told her, then there must be a good reason. She trusts him, so she will not pry.

Most likely, the Sinnoh League must have threatened or blackmailed him into accepting the position of Sunyshore's Gym Leader. With what, she has no clue.

"I think it is time for me to fight for my own rights. I am after all, only human. I cannot do everything. The League needs me because of my unique strengths to solve their problems. Once their problems are solved, there wouldn't be a need to keep me around anymore. Two years, Jas. I know it is a lot to ask from you since you have waited for me for so long, but I promise you two years is all I need to pass on the position of Gym Leader onto someone else."

"Would that unlucky person be someone that goes by the name of Riley?" She teased as she looked up to see his face.

"Touché." He responded with a wry grin. "What gave it away?"

"The fact that we had known each other for seven years?" She responded cheekily.

"If seven years ago somebody told me that I would find the love of my life somewhere far, far away in Johto, I would have called them crazy and throw them into the sea. But I'm glad I decided to travel to Olivine."

"I'm glad I had the courage to challenge you to a battle."

"I can already imagine our future, Jas. I don't know how many kids we will have, but we will probably have a son or two. And one day he will approach me and ask: "_Dad, how do you woo a girl you like?_" And I will say, "_Son, first, you challenge the girl of your dreams to a pokemon battle. Then you will need to score an overwhelming victory, crush her dreams, take her money and demand for her phone number. That's how I met your mother_." And he will ask, "_Really_?" And I will give a serious nod and hope that this is the exact same way that he will meet his other half and hopefully it becomes a family tradition."

"You are a bad influence." Jasmine shook her head in mock disapproval while trying not to laugh at the incredulity of his words. "Did you know that I cried myself to sleep that night?"

"I remembered you told me that during our trip to Kanto. Do I feel bad about it? Yeah. Did I regret it? Nope."

"If we ever have a daughter, I'm going to tell her to never find a boyfriend like her father. I'm going to make sure she will be a pokemon trainer so strong that she is unbeatable. That way, no boys can defeat her in a battle and crush her dreams just like you did mine."

"Aww, Jas. Now you break _my_ heart. _Shhh_, did you hear that? The sound of glass breaking? That was the sound of my heart breaking into a million pieces."

She tried very hard not to laugh at that and failed spectacularly.

"Anyway, there will be a huge festival in Ecruteak two days from now. There will be fireworks, and I heard Morty saying that this year's ones are really pretty." Jasmine changed the topic of their discussion as they both sat down under the shade of a large tree on the beach and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Watch it with me?"

He nodded as he pulled her closer to him. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him and took in his scent. It will be months, or maybe even years before they can be in each other's embrace again. Whenever they are both free again. If only they were both born in the same region and not tasked with such a heavy burden, they wouldn't need to be separated across the vast ocean for such lengthy periods of time.

"I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes." She whispered her promise to him as she snuggled closer to him, not wanting their time together to end. It is only during her time alone with him that she can be simply Jasmine Terbium, not The Iron Wall of Olivine. She did not regret becoming a Gym Leader, but she does miss the simple life.

"I won't make you wait too long. I promise."

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521****st**** Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5\. ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. ****Probopass (North), female**

**8\. ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. ****Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2\. ****Steelix (Steely), female**

**3\. ****Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4\. ****Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5\. ****Forretress (Forest), male**

**6\. ****Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7\. ****Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8\. ****Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9\. ****Mawile (Molly), female**

**10\. ****Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11\. ****Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12\. ****Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13\. ****Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14\. ****Bastiodon (Bobby), male**


	16. Chapter 16- The Deal

Whenever Volkner comes here, it always means that there is a lot on his mind.

Franky stood loyally beside his friend and trainer on the top of one of the numerous mountains that surrounds Sunyshore. The view of the city is the best from here. From where they are, they can view the entire city in its full glory. They can see the lighthouse, the port, the marketplace, the gym, and even the little cottage that they live in.

From here, they can all view the city that they call their home and had protected ever since Volkner became the city's protector.

The view is nice, especially with the sun shining down on it. They can all see people and pokemon alike going about on their daily business. Children are laughing and running about freely without fear of bad humans going about making trouble, unlike how Franky remembered Sunyshore to be when Volkner was still a child. People can now freely travel from one point of Sunyshore to another, a sight that would be hard to witness due to the lack of bridges before.

And isn't this something worth scratching your head about? There are _bridges_ now, bridges that Volkner and Jarvis had helped design the concept behind it. They linked the entire city together, uniting them and giving Sunyshore's residents a stronger sense of identity to the city. According to Jarvis, they helped the city harness the power of the sun. If anyone were to mention 'solar power' and 'city' in one sentence, the first city they would think of is Sunyshore.

All of these became possible because of his trainer, Volkner.

The entire team crowded around Volkner where he is sitting cross legged on the peak of this unnamed mountain. He is simply gazing down at the city that he is tasked to protect with an unreadable look on his face. They had just returned from Johto from their much-needed vacation, and it is time to go back to work soon. Volkner had climbed up here the first thing when they arrived instead of heading to the cottage or to the gym to relieve Flint of his duties.

They all know that something is on Volkner's mind.

"Part of the journey is the end, huh." Volkner said softly as one of his hands idly stroked Jo's sleek fur from where she is snuggling contently on his lap. "People call me the Sun, and just as the sun rose, it will inevitably set. It's time to start thinking on how to properly leave Sunyshore now that the city is starting to be able to stand on its own without me. What do you guys think?"

_'Wherever you go, we will go.'_ Franky said out loud, prompting responses from the rest of the team who agreed with him. They all know Volkner have the unique ability to understand electric types to a certain extent, and most of them are electric types.

"I really want to go to Johto and live with her for the rest of my life. Quietly, the simple life, maybe the occasional challenging battles every now and then. I had done so much these five years, and the results showed. The city wouldn't need me for long anymore, the League will no longer have a use for me once the darkness has been driven out. It's time for me to quit."

_'Can you really leave everything behind? Everything that you had poured your blood and sweat into?'_

"You ask a hard question, Franky." Volkner mused as he gave him an amused sideways glance. "But I won't know until I try."

People call his trainer lazy, irresponsible, irritating, troublesome, and a whole list of negative descriptions but Franky knew better. Volkner loves to talk to them in his free time, his team and pokemon companions, and Franky remembered clearly one of the conversations they had. He told them that he had heard of a saying in his past life, that everyone has three faces.

The first face, you show to the world. That is the face that everyone knows Volkner as. The lazy, irresponsible, irritating, troublesome, and yet a brilliantly capable leader and trainer with a soft spot for pokemon and children.

The second face, you show to your close friends and family. That is the face that he shows to people like Kayla, Jasmine, and Flint. The supportive friend and mentor. The brother that will stick by you through thick and thin. The confident, playful, childish, loving, and sweet man to the woman he loves. These are the people that Volkner will show his second face to, people who he confides in and shows them his weakness because he trusts them.

The third face, as Volkner mentioned, you show to no one. It is the truest reflection of who you are.

That is the face that Volkner had only shown them a glimpse of. Who he truly is. The man who had lived another life before he became Volkner.

And Franky really felt touched and honoured that Volkner trusts them enough to show them a part of his third face, even if it is just a little. He didn't even show Jasmine and Flint this side of him, saying that it is a secret that should not be known to anyone else in the world.

Who would believe if someone goes up to them and tell them that this world is a fictional one?

But Franky doesn't care. Neither did the team. To them, Volkner will always be Volkner, and that is enough for them. He is their trainer. He is their friend. He is their sun. He is their world.

There is another side to Volkner's second face that he never admitted that he has, and this side of the second face is pretty much opposite to his first. Franky knows better than anyone the sense of responsibility that Volkner has. He doesn't like to be saddled with one, but when responsibility comes and sits on his shoulder to say hi, he never once avoided or shirked it. Franky knows that Volkner always took up his responsibilities like a true man.

Having lived in Sunyshore for his entire childhood, Volkner knows better than anyone that a change is what Sunyshore needs. Having known Sunyshore as a fictional city from his first life, he knows what it could evolve to be. Having travelled extensively across the entire Sinnoh in his second life, his new reality, he recognises the hidden danger and threat Sinnoh has in the form of rampant crimes, be it petty ones or organised ones.

More than anyone, Volkner knows that Sinnoh needs to change if people want to live a carefree life without a constant need to check over their shoulders for any signs of danger. A life where people need not worry that they would be mugged the moment they step out of their house. A life where pokemon need not be wary of humans due to the bad things that could be done to them. A life where pokemon and people can truly live in harmony.

A carefree life that Volkner himself had dreamt of ever since he was given a second chance to live again.

Flint was genuinely being helpful when he nominated Volkner as a candidate for Gym Leader, genuinely thinking that Volkner should get the recognition that is in accordance to his strength, so Volkner didn't blame him. It was an entirely different reason that he was so pissed at the League.

Volkner was furious that he got _sabotaged_ to be a Gym Leader. When he attracted the League's attention through Flint, the League thought Volkner was too capable, too strong, and impossible to be controlled should he decide to not give a hoot about Sinnoh. It caught the attention of the wrong kind. The power that he and the team wield has the potential to be Sinnoh's greatest threat should Volkner ever decide to go rogue for whatever reasons.

At least, that was one reason Volkner speculated on why he was chosen to be a Gym Leader. Franky himself found the entire thing too complicated for him to understand. He's more of a fighter than a thinker, thinking about complex problems is more of Jarvis' or Myst's job.

Volkner had said that the League probably wants a leash over him and put him on an even tighter watch, because to them, that is the best way for them to control an uncontrollable element. Keep your allies close and your enemies closer. To the League, anything that cannot be controlled is a possible threat.

Volkner simply thinks that they are all paranoid idiots, and the entire team agreed with him.

The other reason that Volkner became a Gym Leader was that he was threatened.

There are not many things that Volkner truly cared about, but the fact is there _are_ things that he does care a lot about. The orphanage he grew up in is one. Jasmine is another.

The League had threatened to pull out the funding from the orphanage, to drastically reduce it to the bare minimum. Volkner was furious when it was mentioned, but there's nothing that he can realistically do in the small room that he was called into to meet _that_ human. Unless Volkner wants to go on a killing spree (_which honestly, the team wouldn't mind helping him but Volkner is too kind for that_), he was stuck.

Volkner had mentioned afterwards that while the decrease in funding won't make life for the children there impossible, it will make it so much more difficult. He knows that very well because he used to be one of those children that had depended on the funding to live through his childhood. The orphanage can get by with the minimum legal funding, but it won't be the most optimal condition for children to live in. Volkner also cannot possibly support the entire orphanage by himself back then, for he had nothing to his name other than his ability as a trainer. The situation is a lot different now, but back then, Volkner was a nobody. He cannot help or support anyone if he is a nobody.

The second reason was Jasmine.

Back then, Volkner's mate was one of the few that was considered for the position of Gym Leader as well, and to the best of Franky's understanding towards the confusing laws set by humans, the Sinnoh League claimed to have some sort of power or sway to affect the selection process even in another region. Volkner and the team knew how important being a Gym Leader is to Jasmine, and the team also knew that Volkner will never want to be the reason why she couldn't be one.

From what Myst had rationalised to the rest of the team about the complicated ways the human brain functioned, Volkner had wanted to call out on the League's tauros crap, but at the same time, the Volkner back then doesn't know enough about politics and the actual power the Sinnoh League actually holds over Indigo. He was apprehensive, for even when he was confident that his thinking was right and the Sinnoh League was simply telling a bold-faced lie, he simply cannot ignore the small part of him that keeps reminding him on '_what if it's true?'_

And the entire team know Volkner will do anything for Jasmine, even if it's becoming the one thing that he doesn't like to be.

The human that Franky cannot remember the name of, the one that lay out these terms to Volkner, gave him an ultimatum. Either accept the position of Sunyshore's Gym Leader right there and then, or be prepared to face the consequences of his actions should he walked out of the room and choose not to comply.

Volkner was stuck, unable to even find out more information to help him make a more informed decision or find something that may be able to get him out of that bind. He was caught surprised and totally unprepared since he didn't even know beforehand what that meeting was about when he was called there. He cannot simply leave to take some time to think about it because he was not allowed the chance to do so. The moment he did that, the League will assume that all talks are off and they will carry out their threats, threats that Volkner back then would not be able to fight against if they were indeed real. Volkner and them are strong, but a different kind of strength is needed in this case.

Franky knew that even if it was just a ridiculously miniscule chance, Volkner will never ruin such an important moment for Jasmine, and he will also never do anything to harm the children. So, even if he was 9 out of 10 berries sure that the entire thing was an empty threat, he still played it safe and stayed his hand. He took on the title of Gym Leader to protect those that he cared about, even if the threat may not even be there at all.

Volkner is protective of those he cares about and sometimes, he became a little dumb and impulsive when his loved ones are the ones in danger.

But Volkner had vowed to never make the same mistake. He knew that he had let his emotions clouded his judgement and that his ignorance about the League's capability and scope of jurisdiction was his downfall, and he will never let it happen again. Right after he became a Gym Leader, he read up on everything about the Sinnoh League with Jarvis helping him to find the right materials to read up on. Myst had helpfully explained to the team that what their beloved trainer is doing is to understand the system on how laws of human society works in Sinnoh, so that he would not be caught unaware again.

Volkner tried to find out about the dealings between the different Leagues in different regions, to understand if they really have some sort of sway over the other. Like he had suspected, the Sinnoh League being able to influence Indigo's decisions in choosing their Gym Leaders was a complete lie, but at least _now_ he knows _for certain_ that it was a lie. The next time, that same lie won't work anymore, because Volkner now understands just what the Sinnoh League can and cannot do. It was also why Volkner focused so much on his efforts on what he calls 'charity efforts', to get people to help those in need, so that the orphanage would not need to strictly rely on the funding given to them by the Sinnoh League and the Government. They would have some sort of independence if there is some sort of network supporting it.

The third secret reason that everyone on the team knows, but Volkner will never ever admit to anyone due to his pride, is the fact that he actually cares about Sunyshore.

Despite how his third face usually shows otherwise, Volkner cares, and when he cares, he really does care. Everyone on the team knows this because they are his pokemon. They all had been raised under his care. Volkner had grown up in the ugliest part of the city and he knows just how unsafe it can be. Volkner abhors responsibility but that doesn't mean that he cannot take it. He does have a sense of responsibility. When he first became a Gym Leader, he had told them that since he is now one, he might as well make it the best city ever. Since he is stuck being a Gym Leader, then he will make something out of it, both for the city and himself.

If not him, then who? If not now, then when?

Volkner takes pride in what he does and he does not want anyone to belittle his capability. He does not want his hometown to continue to be known as '_the most dangerous city in Sinnoh'_, or '_the poorest city in Sinnoh'_ like what other humans always refer Sunyshore as back in the days. He reluctantly took on the responsibility of being a Gym Leader because he also wants things to change, and since he is now someone saddled with the power to bring about change, he might as well be the one to do it. He just didn't expect that he will be the one to make the change, he had always assumed that somebody else would do it until then.

And Volkner did change the city.

The old gloomy Sunyshore of before is no more. This new Sunyshore is a bright one, where crimes no longer fester and people live with smiles on their faces. People form more connections with each other instead of living in their own world on the small landmasses that made up Sunyshore. Volkner made Sunyshore bright, because he was driven with a sense of responsibility that he was saddled with even if he doesn't like it.

It's contradictory, but that's who Volkner is. The man who hates responsibility more than anything but yet never fails to understand the true meaning of that word. When it comes down to it, he's reliable.

But Sunyshore doesn't really need him now. Volkner was chosen as Gym Leader because of his capabilities, capabilities that the League back then needed him for as it was vital in helping Sinnoh improve the region's wellbeing. Now that most of the darkness in Sunyshore had been driven out, the importance of his abilities is slowly being diminished. Not that Volkner mind, but he knows that a different Gym Leader will be needed to lead the new Sunyshore. Volkner was best suited to lead and improve a chaotic and poverty ridden Sunyshore, but that Sunyshore is no more. His era is coming to an end and he knows it is time for him to step down. Volkner had chosen Riley, saying that he is the new Sun best suited to lead a peaceful and prosperous Sunyshore.

The League don't agree with him, saying that Volkner's abilities are still needed. Volkner said that he couldn't give a pachirisu's ass about what they think. Scrat got very offended by that, saying what did he ever do to Volkner to receive such a remark?

Naturally, Scrat's opinion was ignored by everyone.

The recent appearance of the funny looking bad humans known as Team Galactic got Volkner very worried. He feels that if anyone can bring the whole Sinnoh down and destroy their five years of hard work, it will be them.

So, he is now back to a dilemma similar to the one he faced five years ago.

Should he stay, or should he go? Does Sunyshore and Sinnoh still need him?

"Come on." Volkner said as he patted Jo to signal her to get off his lap, which she did so reluctantly since she was comfortable with her previous position when she snuggled herself there. "Let's leave Flint to run the gym a little longer, we have somebody to meet. She gave me an unrefusable offer five years ago, it's my turn to return the favour."

Volkner stood back up just as the sun shines brightly overhead, lighting up the city.

"We have one last thing to do, then it's time for the Sun of Sunyshore to set."

* * *

Ashley Wells pushed open the door to her office on the Lily of the Valley Island, only to be taken aback for a moment when she spotted a yellow-haired man sitting on her chair. His legs are propped up on her neatly arranged desk and he is munching on an apple that he had definitely taken from the fruit bowl placed at the corner of her office desk.

"Volkner." She greeted as she closed the door behind her. Volkner may be a Gym Leader, but that does not explain how he managed to get past all the security that had been put in place and reached her office undetected.

After all, she is the President of Sinnoh, the leader of the Sinnoh Government. She is given the highest form of protection no matter where she goes, especially at her workplace. No one is supposed to reach her office unannounced and undetected.

"Ashley." Volkner drawled in that usual lazy tone of his as he took another bite out of the apple he is holding in his hand. His pachirisu is munching on another apple in an obnoxious manner and the crumbs are flying everywhere, dirtying the papers on her desk.

Ashley held in her annoyance. She knows that her relationship with Volkner is not on the best of terms. It will also not be wise to piss off the strongest Gym Leader in Sinnoh, one whose loyalty to them is not guaranteed.

Volkner is loyal only to those that he cares about. She would know. She had made use of that weakness of his to shackle him with the duty of a Gym Leader. She is not a fan of that method, but it was necessary. She knew Volkner would be good for Sunyshore and Sinnoh when Flint first recommended him to the League as a potential candidate to succeed the previous Sunyshore Gym Leader, Mark. Volkner's addition into their Thirteen Pillars had been nothing but beneficial for them, speeding up the development in Sunyshore's economy by at least a decade.

It was an achievement bordering that of a miracle, one that not many Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars can boast of throughout Sinnoh's history. Droves of criminal organisations had been wiped out by Volkner's hands ever since his rose to power. People are now able to leave their homes without having to worry about being mugged or whether their loved ones will reach home safely before sunset.

Volkner had single handedly drove down the crime rates in the entire region. His name alone is deterrence to those from the underworld. No one dares to mess with him because of how good he is in his job.

There is power to his name. Volkner of Sunyshore is a name feared by all of Sinnoh's evils.

Because of his contributions, Sinnoh is now rated as the safest region for people to travel among the seven member regions that made up the Pokemon World League. The way he revolutionised the method Sinnoh train their special forces and the SPF was a tremendous boost to both the League and the Government in helping to enforce law and order across their lands. It is a stark contrast to what Sinnoh was before Volkner became a Gym Leader.

Sinnoh needs him. Sinnoh needs Volkner, the reluctant Gym Leader, the Sun of Sunyshore.

"Nice apple, by the way." He said before tossing it into the bin after he is done with it.

"You could have just made an appointment with me if you want to talk." She responded as she took the seat opposite him.

"_Talk_? Since when did you let others do the talking?" Volkner scoffed as he put his legs down and leaned in closer. She stood her ground, unflinching. She may not be a trainer, but she cannot show any signs of being intimidated by an obviously infuriated Volkner.

"Volkner, I know what we did to you wasn't fair-"

"I'm _surprised _you actually knew what _'fair' _means." He replied, his voice sharper than daggers.

"Usually, we would have let you go by now, but there is the new threat of-"

"Team Galactic, I know. I faced them on more than one occasion." He cut her off. "They have the ability to somehow instantly rile up groups of wild pokemon at a whim, stage invasions on cities willy-nilly, the knowledge to manufacture high-tech machineries good enough to suppress mythicals and possibly _legendaries_, among many other things. This is why I am here today. On a side note, you and Cynthia really need to start working on how to better protect our legendaries and mythicals. I will protect shaymin and manaphy on my side, so don't worry about them."

"In that case, I'm glad we can come to an agreement."

"I haven't lay out my terms yet."

The room went deathly silent once more.

"I am really sorry that I have to do this to you, but as President, I did not regret my decision that I made five years ago."

"I have _enough_ of being a slave to the League and to you." He hissed dangerously. "You wanted me to improve Sunyshore into what it rightfully should be, I did that. You wanted me to wipe out the hordes of thieves and criminals infesting Sinnoh, I did that. I even went the extra mile to help train your special forces on every weekend for two years, to make sure that they can handle themselves even without any support from the Thirteen Pillars. I had worked tirelessly 24/7 for the past five years since you put me into that damn position. I have _enough_. It's time I take back what is rightfully mine. So, this is what we are gonna do. Think of it as a concession, or a bargain, whatever you prefer."

Volkner paused for a moment before he continued.

"Two years. I **_will _**wipe out Team Galactic within two years, or at least weaken them enough for the League and the Government to be able to handle them by themselves even without me around. After that, I want _out_. You and the League will not stop me, obstruct me, or disturb me ever again and most importantly, _you lay your hands off Jasmine and the orphanage_. Am I clear?"

"Volkner-"

The whistle of a sharp object piercing through the air got her frozen in shock as she found a razor-sharp yellow tail millimetres away from her neck. She didn't dare to move, but the gaze of her eyes slowly travelled along the tail and she found a raichu giving her a silent snarl. She has no idea how she didn't notice the raichu until now.

"**_Am I clear?_**"

"… Yes."

Ashley gritted out her answer. She doesn't like the way Volkner threatened her, but she knows that she had asked too much from him in these five years. Five years ago when Volkner was called into this office in their attempt to convince him to take on the mantle as the next Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Cynthia wasn't free since she was saddled with duties that took her elsewhere.

Across the world, the region's Government, which deals with non-pokemon related affairs, and the region's League, the side which deals with anything related to pokemon, usually do not work so closely with each other to the point that their authorities intersect. However, the Sinnoh Government and the Sinnoh League had always been an outlier in this aspect.

In Sinnoh, both the President and the Champion had worked very closely with each other throughout the region's history. Thus, there is nothing out of the ordinary when Ashley had volunteered to help Cynthia convince Volkner to join the ranks of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars, saying she alone will be enough to convince him to take on the job. Being a Gym Leader is a great honour, _no one_ had turned down such an offer before in the PWL's history. It was supposed to be an easy task.

Of course, Volkner just had to be that anomaly. She wasn't expecting Volkner to be so adamant against taking up the position.

No one else was privy to their conversation when she forced Volkner to take on the position of Sunyshore Gym Leader five years ago, in this same room, and gave the list of tasks she imposed on him, because if such a method wasn't employed, Volkner wouldn't have took up the position and the responsibilities it entails.

Not even Flint or Cynthia are aware of that. It was the secret agreement she imposed between Volkner and her. She had done a thorough background check on Volkner even before she met him for the first time. She knows Volkner will not breathe a word about their arrangement to anyone else because he would never want Jasmine to find out that she was the reason why he took up this position. Ashley had exploited that to its fullest effect.

Volkner has the right to be mad.

In fact, she was surprised it took him this long to snap. Volkner is arguably the most overtaxed member of their Thirteen Pillars, sometimes even more so than Cynthia. It's just that he had hid it very well behind the lazy façade that he usually put on display when he walks around in public. He had complained, he whined, he had rebelled, but he always got his work done. Very often, he had gone far above what his duty entails. She knows that.

And she also knows that she shouldn't push her luck any further. Volkner has the ability to not only become Sinnoh's greatest asset, but also her greatest threat. No one short of Cynthia can stop him if he really wants to rebel, and even Cynthia herself had admitted that it is not possible for her to emerge unscathed if they ever fought seriously. Ashley cannot risk two of Sinnoh's strongest trainers killing each other. It would greatly weaken Sinnoh's military might and reputation.

That's why she wasn't surprised when he is giving her the death threat now.

"Good. Remember your promise and I will uphold mine. And if you ever dare to go back on your word-"

The yellow tail disappeared from her neck in a yellow blur. The next thing she knew, her desk had been cleaved cleanly into two and fell apart. She didn't even hear the sound of raichu's tail splitting her desk.

"I will make sure you will live to regret it."

Volkner stood up and walked in his usual casual manner towards the door, his pachirisu and raichu following after him. He opened the door and walked out of her office, slamming the door shut after him.

It was only then did Ashley let out a breath that she didn't even knew she held. She looked at her sweaty hands, which are still shaking from the scare she received from Volkner.

She nearly jumped in her skin again when the door to her office suddenly swung open. Volkner poked his head in with the usual sleepy expression on his face, looking as if he didn't just give the President of Sinnoh a death threat less than a minute ago.

"And oh, please send a crate of those apples to the orphanage. I think the kids will love those. Thanks."

She leaned back onto her chair when the door shut once again. To sacrifice the needs of a few for the sake of the majority is something she never liked doing, but this time, it is obvious that she had gone too far.

Then again, Volkner is just too capable. Nobody could have completed the tasks she imposed on him to improve Sinnoh. Not Cynthia, and not even Flint, who is supposedly his equal in strength. Being good in pokemon battles is not the sole criteria they assessed in choosing their Thirteen Pillars. It is a _given _that each member of the Thirteen Pillars are good in pokemon battles. Each member must have additional unique skills or abilities that they can bring into the group in helping the League to maintain the peace in their region. Volkner has a special kind of talent no one else has.

Even before he competed in his first conference, he had busted a considerable number of criminal groups on his own as a _child_. He is too smart, he is too competent, and he has the ability to get people to help and listen to him. He is surprisingly charismatic and can be very deceptive. He has every quality that a member of a Thirteen Pillar should possess despite his laid back personality. Volkner is a splendid leader through and through even if he never acted like one. Anyone who got fooled by his lazy exterior often found themselves regretting underestimating him. The loyalty his gym trainers have towards him is enough proof to her about his leadership skills. Some of them had decided to stay on working in his gym even if they had better prospects elsewhere. His head gym trainer Kayla is a prime example. That is a rare sight to see among gym trainers since most of them only took the position as temporary jobs to hone their skills before enlisting into the League's forces or competing in the next conference.

Volkner has the right to be angry for what she and the League did to him, but for the sake of upholding the peace in Sinnoh, she would bear the brunt of his anger. It wasn't easy maintaining the peace in her homeland and across the world for more than 500 years. Many hard and unethical choices were made by her and her predecessors. This is one of them.

To be a leader is to sacrifice. She had sacrificed her youth and her dreams of starting a family. Volkner had sacrificed his time and freedom. She and Cynthia had recently agreed to declare an unofficial secret war against Team Galactic after recognising the threat they posed to Sinnoh. Team Galactic needs to be wiped out pronto before they grew to be too big a threat, because it is obvious that they have large plans involving their region's legendaries and mythicals. Whatever that plan is, nobody knows, but everyone had agreed that Team Galactic must be stopped.

For Sinnoh's sake, Ashley really hoped that Volkner's voluntary participation in their fight against the new threat that Team Galactic poses to their region can end as soon as possible.

* * *

**Omake: The Ecruteak Festival**

"I'm warning you, Volk! D-Don't mess it up!"

"Geez, have a little faith in me, won't you?"

She held in her urge to whine when he continues to apply foundation on her face. He turned her back to the mirror because he told her to have trust in him to help her with the makeup. She has no idea what she looks like right now because of that.

"Open your mouth, say ahh."

Volkner is definitely enjoying this too much.

Still, she opened her mouth as she allowed him to apply the lipstick on her lips. Everything went by in a blur as he helped her with her eyelashes, eyebrows, applying the finishing touches on her face with the various brushes and even going so far as to do her hair for her.

Internally, she's praying to Ho-oh that her boyfriend didn't just transform her face to something like those of a muk.

"Done!" Volkner clapped his hands happily before turning the chair she is sitting on around to face the mirror on the wall.

"Tada!"

Jasmine's jaws dropped.

As it turns out, her boyfriend _does _have a talent in makeup after all. How did he do it? Where did he learn it from?

They are both planning to attend the biggest annual festival in Ecruteak, where tourists and locals alike will flock to in order to celebrate the festival held in Ho-oh's name. The two of them just want to bask in the festive mood one last time before they are separated by the length of an entire ocean for Arceus knows how long. This will be their last big date before Volkner have to return to Sunyshore.

None of them knows when will be the next time they will be able to see each other face-to-face again.

"Like it?" He whispered into her ear as he gently wrapped her arms around her waist from behind. Both of them stared into the mirror as Jasmine slowly turns her head side to side to inspect her boyfriend's handiwork.

"I do." She answered with a soft smile as she tilts her head up and gave a light peck on his cheek.

Volkner had taken great care in doing her hair. He had made her hairdo resemble those of a shrine maiden, which the Johto locals refer to as 'miko'. Mikos are the priestess that maintains the shrines that worships their region's legendaries. Her long hair is tied into a low ponytail with a piece of cloth. Her pigtails are gone, and instead they fall to frame the sides of her face.

"My turn!" She said excitedly as she got out of the chair and forced her boyfriend to sit on it. She picked up a comb and a small container of wax that he always brings along.

"What hairstyle do you want?"

"Hmm…" Volkner adopted an exaggerated thinking pose that got her to giggle.

"What about a mohawk?"

"That doesn't go well with our attire later. Try something else."

"Surprise me." He said with a large grin and Jasmine's eyes narrowed. Is that a challenge?

"I'm going to tame your messy hair today. Just you watch, Volkner Tide."

"I'm so scared." He drawled lazily, which earned him a yelp of pain when she purposely jerked at the comb when she was combing through his messy yellow hair.

"Jas! Lighter! Ow!"

It may be only ten minutes, but it was an uphill battle to get his hair to stay down. She had to apply _a lot _of wax.

"Is this the kind of hairstyle you like to see me in?" Volkner inquired as he peered at his reflection in the mirror.

"It is a nice change, don't you think?" She replied excitedly as she scooted to his side. His yellow hair is now slicked back, giving him a more refreshed look from his usual lazy and sleepy one.

"In any case, I doubt anyone in the crowd can recognise us at first glance. They are probably too used to seeing us in our usual outfits and hairstyles that we can pass off as some ordinary couple with our current appearance."

"You didn't style my hair into pigtails." She pouted as she looked up at him in mock anger, her favourite hairstyle gone thanks to Volkner.

"Your pigtails are too recognisable. We are supposed to go incognito here, Jas."

The sun outside is about to set soon. The festival is one that only starts when the sun fully sets and only stops when the sun rises again. It will last for an entire week. In this one week, the whole of Ecruteak will experience seven sleepless nights as they celebrate the festival held in Ho-oh's name from dusk to dawn.

"Quick! It will start soon!" She hurried him as she pushed him to the wardrobe where the yukatas they bought are hanged within.

"I have no idea how to wear that thing." He told her truthfully. While Sinnoh is home to many ancient myths and tales, it is not big on tradition, unlike Johto. Out of the known seven member regions of the Pokemon World League, Johto and Alola are the regions that places the most emphasis on tradition.

"Take your shirt off. You won't need it since it will be too hot for you if you wear it underneath in this warm weather." She commanded and he obeyed without question. She tried not to stare at his toned upper body too much as he did so, but from the sudden rise in heat of her cheeks she knows her reddening face is giving her away.

"Like what you see?"

Judging by how Volkner is wagging his eyebrows at her, she probably failed to be subtle.

"Yes." She admitted as she held his yukata in her hands. Now what is the best way to fit this on him that can bring out his charm in the best possible way?

"Do I need to take off my pants too?"

"Go ahead." She said absentmindedly. If he thinks this is going to get a reaction out of her, then he is wrong.

She made him spread out his arms in a T shape as she helped him put on the yukata, ignoring the fact that he is now only in his briefs and trying not to ogle at him. She took a step back when she finally finished tying the sash around his hips.

He looks so handsome in it.

Volkner himself is inspecting her handiwork, moving his arms about and taking a few steps around the room of the inn that they are staying at.

"It's… surprisingly comfortable and not restrictive."

"I was the one who helped put this on you, of course it will be comfortable." She retorted as she made some final adjustments to his yukata and tugged his clothing into place. There, now it's perfect.

"So it's my turn to help you get dressed?" He whispered into her ear in that husky voice of his, making her ear itch when his breath tickled her sensitive ear. She can feel her face heating up even further.

"I-It's fine! I can do it myself!"

"I'm sure you will need an extra hand or two…" He purred out as he took her yukata and looked at her with a sly expression.

"Fine, just do it properly. Especially the sash, don't mess that up or everything will come loose."

"Can't have the whole world see your beauty now, can I?" He said suggestively as she took off her dress, leaving her in her undergarments. He had already seen her in a bikini before anyway, this is not much different.

"Huh? I thought girls don't wear bra underneath a yu-"

"Just _get on_ with it, Volk." She glared at him for the umpteenth time that day, demanding him to hurry with it.

"Yes ma'am."

"Wrap the right side to my left hip first." She began to guide him as he dutifully starts to dress her up. "Then the left side over my right."

"Uh huh." He said as he did just that, holding her yukata in place when he is done.

"Check the bottom of the yukata, are the lengths even?"

"It is, Your Majesty."

Holding in the urge to laugh, she continues.

"Tie the sash around my waist."

She used her hands to help him hold her yukata in place as he wrapped the sash around her waist three times, leaving just enough length to tie the sash into a bow.

"Is it too tight?"

"No, you did it right. I'm a good teacher, it seems."

"Of course you are. You want to tie the bow at the front or back?"

"Back."

"Alright, one beautiful bow for Your Majesty coming right up."

A few seconds later, she twirled herself in front of the mirror, inspecting his handiwork.

"Not bad, a seven out of ten."

"Seven? That's it?"

"One point deducted for being too slow. Two points for ogling at me while I was undressing myself."

"How about you deduct all ten points but I get to see you naked?"

She gave him the harshest glare she can.

His jaws dropped and he got onto his knees in a dramatic manner.

"Your Majesty! I'm wrong! Please forgive your humble subject!"

She laughed when he did a poor imitation of a bow befitting of said humble subject.

"Come over here, you big dummy." She pulled him over to the front of the mirror and positioned themselves nicely. The warm orange glow of the table lamp is just the lighting she needs.

She picked up her phone to take a picture of their reflections in the mirror. She had made sure to take as many pictures as possible during the course of their one true vacation after five years, and she wants to use whatever remaining time they have to take as many more as possible.

She wants to create many more memories with him. The memories of their time together where they can put down their status and responsibilities as Gym Leaders and just be themselves. Right now, they are just ordinary people living ordinary lives.

She leaned into him as he supported her with an arm around her waist. The sound of the click of a shutter captured this very moment and saved the image into her phone.

It's not every day that she gets to have her hair done beautifully by the man who she loves so much.

"One more!"

"As many as you like, Jas."

He leaned in and pressed a kiss onto her cheek, and she wasted no time in capturing that moment as well.

"Another one!"

"What happened to not wanting to be late for the festival?"

"I don't care! Another one!"

"As you command, Your Majesty."

* * *

Like Volkner had said, people somehow don't recognise them the moment they had a drastic makeover. Maybe it's because Johtonians are too used to seeing her in pigtails and the colour of her hair is a common enough colour. To add on, she is now wearing a yukata, an attire that she had appeared before the public before. She blends in very well into the crowd.

"That one! Let's go!"

She dragged him towards a game booth, a stick of dango in hand.

"Ring Toss?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded and pointed at a specific prize with a finger, her other hand resting on her hips.

"Win me that."

His gaze followed her outstretched finger until he saw the object in question.

"A mareep doll?"

"Yes. So that I have something to hug to sleep at night." She said adamantly.

"You already have like, _five_ different dolls in your bedroom."

"I don't care. I don't have a mareep one yet."

He let out an amused huff, but still went up to pay the fee required to play the game. The stall owner handed him five rings.

"Let's see, to win the mareep doll, I will need to hit my rings on any of the three mareep targets. Jas? Can you pick an easier target? There's _only three _targets for me to choose from if I want a mareep doll."

"Stop complaining, at least I didn't ask for you to win me the ampharos doll." She pointed at the only ampharos wooden target lying _waaaaay_ back.

"Mareep doll it is then." She witnessed as her boyfriend resigned himself to his fate. He took a stance and held a ring in his right hand in a throwing stance.

The first ring missed spectacularly.

"The next one will hit. I promise."

It didn't.

"How did you catch your pokemon if your throwing skills are that bad?"

"They usually fainted by the end of the battle. I didn't need to throw my pokeball from so far away."

Even Scrat is laughing openly at Volkner's lack of skill as the rodent rolled about by their feet, laughing so much that the electric type can't even stand properly. Squeaky and Molly are also too busy laughing right now to care about anything else.

"Oi, you three. Shut it." He grumbled at their pokemon but they only laughed even louder.

The third ring flew out of the store, it was definitely flying in the wrong direction. Jasmine is starting to wonder how Volkner became a pokemon trainer with such abysmal throwing skills. Mastering how to throw a pokeball is a must-have skill for any trainer.

Her boyfriend is a _Gym Leader_. The **_strongest _**_Gym Leader_ in Sinnoh.

And his throwing skills are _non-existent._

"Throwing a ring is a lot harder than throwing a pokeball. Really."

"I understand." She nodded her head but at this point, she is really just playing along to save her boyfriend some face and whatever is left of his pride.

The fourth ring missed as well.

"Volk? I understand. Really, I do."

"This one will hit. Fifth time's the charm."

She can only watch as her last hope of adding another doll to her collection flew off into the night sky. He used too much strength for that last throw.

"Let's just go to the next stall." She sighed as she tugged on his yukata to drag him away.

"One more try!"

"Volk…"

"One more try, Jas! I'm sure I can win the mareep doll this time!"

* * *

She sat down by the side as she watched Volkner trying again to win the doll she had wanted to add into her collection. She had lost count by now the number of times he had attempted.

She peered down at the collection of dolls in her arms. He never did manage to win a mareep doll for her, but he did win a few dolls by accident in his quest for obtaining that mareep doll she had asked from him.

"You will be Teddy." She said resolutely to the teddiursa doll before turning to the next one. "You are Shucky." She used a hand to make the shuckle doll nod back at her in response. Satisfied, she turned to the last doll, a chikorita. "And your name is chiky."

Chiky stared back at her with unblinking eyes.

"Get along with each other, okay? I will introduce you guys to the rest of the family when I get back home. I'm sure you guys will love each other."

She then carefully stores them in a drawstring bag she had brought along. It looks small, but it has enough space on the inside to store items bigger than its volume. It is the same type of technology utilised to store pokemon into pokeballs. With this technology, people can bring along a large volume of items but not feel the weight. It is one of the most important inventions that revolutionised the way the world works.

Once she is absolutely sure that the three new additions to her doll family back home is safe and sound in her drawstring bag, she walked back to Volkner.

"Volk, it's fine." She said as she pulled on the sleeves of his yukata to get his attention. There's only one more ring left in his hand.

"No, it's not fine." He said with a determined gleam in his eyes as he glared at the mareep target with burning determination. "This is now a matter of principle. I promise I can win that mareep doll, Jas."

She sighed. He had burnt through a small sum of money just for trying to win that mareep doll for her. She appreciates the length he will go just to make her happy, but this is enough.

"Last throw, Volk. I still want to go sightseeing."

He nodded back absentmindedly, still too fixated on winning that mareep doll for her. Bringing him here was a wrong choice to make. Now he's too determined to get that mareep doll no matter what.

He tossed, and they both watched with bated breath as the ring flew through the air.

The final ring got closer and closer to a mareep target and she can feel her eyes widening in anticipation.

The edge of the ring hit the mareep target, and the anticipation turned into disappointment when the ring bounced off the mareep target and flew off course. The edge of the ring hit a pidgey target next before it bounced again, this time up into the air.

Jasmine and Volkner both have their eyes fixed on the ring, and she knows that the few onlookers nearby are also watching it as they all held their breaths when the ring seemingly flew in slow motion.

And then the ring landed straight into the ampharos target at the very back, the ring circling uncontrollably like a hula hoop around the ampharos target before coming to an abrupt rest.

"What?"

"You did it! You did it!" Jasmine jumped on her feet happily as she squealed and wrapped her arms around Volkner's neck, who is still dumbstruck at how the whole thing played out. The stall owner passed an ampharos doll into his hands, and it was then Volkner finally realised what had really happened.

"Uh… not really what we aimed for, but I guess we can make do with this?"

She grabbed the ampharos doll he passed over as she squealed and hugged it close to her. This is one of the hardest prizes to win! And he did it!

"Thanks, Volk." She said when she looked up at him and the ampharos doll in her arms.

"Anything for you, Jas." He replied with that tender smile on his face as they both walked out of the area.

"You are… the name Amphy is already taken, so is Fluffy." She held the ampharos doll in front of her and talked to it seriously. She tilted the doll slightly to one side.

"Am-pha-ros... How about Rossy? Do you like the name?"

She made the doll nod at her happily.

"Okay! Your name is now Rossy!"

"I still don't get why you name your dolls."

"Don't hurt Rossy's feelings!" She pulled Rossy back into her arms, hugging it protectively and glared at Volkner. She covered the sides of Rossy's head with her hands, blocking out those hurtful words as she looked back at the ampharos doll.

"Don't listen to him, Rossy. Volk is just plain mean."

"**_I_** am mean? How?"

They spent another two hours exploring the various stalls, and when she got a little tired from all the walking they did, they decided to head to the Ho-oh shrine at the northern part of town. Praying for good luck at the Ho-oh shrine is a must-do thing here at Ecruteak.

They dropped some coins into the box outside when they finally reach the shrine's entrance. It is a beautifully made shrine that houses the stone statue of Ho-oh which stood about twenty metres in front of them. She rang the bell at the entrance on their behalf before they entered and guided him through the process.

He followed her example when she bowed twice before clapping her hands twice as well. She clasped her hands and closed her eyes in a silent prayer for a short moment before bowing one last time.

"What did you wish for?" He asked her when they turned around to exit the shrine, her hand in his.

"Secret." She winked at him. "Prayers don't come true if you say them out loud."

She let him guide her out of the crowd. The both of them made their way to one of the many hills that surrounds Ecruteak. They found an isolated spot that is far from the crowd as they watched the city shines brightly in the dark night as the festival goes on. Right here, they have their much-needed privacy.

They both sat down on the grass as they let their pokemon out to relax as well. They have all the space they need here.

"The fireworks should be starting in a few minutes." She said as she leaned her back into him. He wrapped an arm around her while his other arm held a flower he picked from the ground nearby.

"Hold still." He said as he carefully placed the flower into her hair.

"There, you are so much prettier now. A jasmine flower for you."

She let out a silent laughter as she turned around to straddle him and cupped the sides of his face.

"You are an incredible dork, Volk."

"I'm _your_ dork."

"True." She hummed as he brushed some stray strands of hair with his hand and tucked them behind her ear. She moved her face closer to him, to the point that their noses are touching each other.

"I love you, Volk."

"Me too, Jas."

They kissed, their tongues fighting for dominance and she eventually surrendered and let his tongue into her mouth. The dark sky suddenly lit up, and they parted for air as they both turned to watch the fireworks lit the night sky with colourful displays of fire and light.

He hugged her from behind from where they sat on the ground, their pokemon around them as they too are drawn to the beautiful display. The crowd in the city below are also cheering, their cheers can be heard even from where they are at the edge of the city.

The display of fireworks eventually ended, much to her dismay, reminding her once more that the end of their vacation is drawing near.

She doesn't want it to end. It's been so long since they can be together in such a carefree state.

"Volk?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we just sit here for a little longer?"

"Sure thing. We can even watch the sunrise here if you want to."

She turned her head up to meet his face.

"I have you. You are my sun. Why would I need to watch the sunrise when I can just watch you?"

He blinked in amazement.

"Jas, since when are you a fan of cheesy lines?"

"Since now." She told him cheekily. "Like it?"

"Very. Say it again."

"Don't want to."

"Aww, don't break my heart, Jas."

"Too bad. I'm cruel like that."

"What a cruel iron wall, blocking out all the sunlight."

"Someone among the two of us has to live up to their title."

She continues to stare into those mesmerising blue eyes of his. It is the most beautiful thing she had ever laid eyes on.

"Volk?"

"Yes?"

"Kiss me? I won't get any hugs or kisses from you for a long time when you go back to Sinnoh."

He smirked as he lowers his face down closer to her.

"Your wish is my command, Your Majesty."

* * *

She gave a lazy yawn and used a hand to rub her bleary eyes. They had turned in late last night due to the festival. Her arms instinctively fumbled for the person sleeping next to her and she latched onto him the moment her hands found him, wrapping her arms around him and latching onto his body heat.

"Morning, Jas."

"Morning." She mumbled back as she rested her head on the crook of his neck.

"It's going to be noon soon."

"A little longer…"

It's too comfortable right now for her to get out of bed.

They stayed in bed for another hour before they are forced to get up because they are starting to get hungry. She washed up, changed out of her nightgown and into her usual white dress, combed her hair nicely, and ready to head out.

Today is the last day of their vacation. He will be heading back to Sinnoh tonight.

They headed back to Olivine in an unhurried manner, taking in the sights along the way on Simba's back, chatting with each other and trying to create as many memories as possible before their separation again.

Alas, the fated time arrives no matter how they tried to delay it. Before she knew it, they are both at Olivine Port, with her sending him off as the sun starts to set.

"Here." She held Teddy up in front of him, the teddiursa doll that he had won for her. "You can bring Teddy back with you so that you won't be too lonely when you are sleeping at night when you are back in Sinnoh."

He looked at the doll before looking back up at her.

"Jas-"

"Just take it."

He looked at the doll shoved into his hands, a clueless look on his face.

"I have no idea where I am going to put Teddy in my bedroom."

"I don't care." She huffed out loud. "And make sure you take care of Teddy. If not…"

She left her threat hanging in the air, looking at him expectantly.

"Got it. Teddy here will get the best five-star treatment I can find for him." He nodded in agreement before looking at the doll in his hands. "Right, Teddy?"

The teddiursa doll stared back at him in silence.

"Make sure you give him regular baths."

"Yes Jas. I will make sure I will give him the spa worthy of a king."

"And don't make him feel lonely."

"Got it."

"Teddy enjoys hugs, so hug him regularly."

"Will hug him to sleep every night and sing him lullabies."

They both stopped and stared at each other in sudden silence before bursting out into laughter again.

"I'm serious, Volk." She tried her best to put on her serious face as she said that.

"I know. I will take care of Teddy so well that he will evolve into a big bad ursaring when you see him again." He said in equal seriousness.

"But he won't be cute if he's an ursaring."

"I will make sure Teddy will still remember how to use Baby-Doll Eyes and Fake Tears, so he will still be cute. If not, using an Everstone on Teddy will do too."

"You better."

"I believe this is where you use Sweet Kiss on me." He said in that usual sly look on his face whenever he tries to get cheeky with her.

"I must have the Oblivious ability, since I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Did you see that, Teddy?" Volkner gave a dramatic sigh as he began to talk to the doll in his hands. "What am I gonna do?"

She took a quick glance around. Thankfully, there aren't any people paying attention to them at the moment.

She guess she can give him this last gift.

Without warning, she tiptoed and gave a peck on his lips.

"There, happy?"

"I must have accidentally used an Amnesia, cos I cannot remember what just happened. Can you do that again?"

"Take it or leave it, Volk." She crossed her arms. No way is she going to do any more such open acts of affection in such a public area. She is a Gym Leader and she has an image to uphold!

He surprised her when he pulled her into a hug.

"Take care of yourself."

"Dummy, that is what I should be saying to you. You barely have any time for yourself." She chided back. "At least try to eat three meals a day. Stop making me worry about you so much when I'm not there with you. Don't hurt yourself when you are beating up criminals, okay?"

"Understood."

She watched as he boarded the ship, and she continues to watch as the ship began to slowly leave the port and he waved her goodbye as the ship departed. She waved back and continues to see him off until the ship became a small speck on the vast sea.

Their vacation is over, and now she has to resume her duties as the Iron Wall of Olivine, the Gym Leader of her city. It will be a long time before they can see each other face-to-face again, but she will wait patiently for that day to arrive.

Amphy tugged gently on her dress.

"Sorry for the wait." She apologised to her starter as they turned around to head back home. Amphy nuzzled against her cheek, prompting a laugh out of her.

She will wait for their next big vacation.

* * *

**AN: The ecruteak scene was supposed to be part of the story, but I realised putting it right at the very beginning of the chapter will make the entire pace very draggy and slow, so I decided to insert it as an omake. Not sure if it works as intended, but hopefully you guys enjoyed it.**

**As usual, hope you guys enjoy the story thus far.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521****st**** Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. ****Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. ****Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. ****Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. ****Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5\. ****Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. ****Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. ****Probopass (North), female**

**8\. ****Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**


	17. Chapter 17- Meeting

Volkner is the most _Problematic _member of the Thirteen Pillars with a capital P.

He's lazy, irritating, laidback, couldn't seem to be bothered with any of his Gym Leader duties and his only redeemable qualities are his abilities as a trainer. Upon second thought, Candice can grudgingly admit that his presence did help to improve Sunyshore, but other than that?

She really cannot see anything good about him no matter how she squinted her eyes and tried.

That's why she was so surprised that Volkner actually **_initiated _**a meeting among the thirteen of them. It's not a physical meeting, but rather one held through video call and over a heavily secured communication line given the nature of their statuses. That's not important. What is important is the fact that **_Volkner_** was the one who initiated it. The one person who always either skipped or slept through their meetings actually initiated a meeting among them on his own accord. A _miracle _had happened. The sun really rose from the west this time round.

All of them are busy people, so the only free time they have is the dead of the night when most of them have completed their daily duties as members of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars.

"Yo, wassup."

"_Wassup_? You don't initiate a meeting like this and _wassup_ us, Volkner. What is it?" Fantina quipped back over the screen. Everyone is obviously worried about what is so important that Volkner actually insisted to talk to all thirteen of them about it.

"Alright, long story short. I got permission from Ashley to wipe out Team Galactic for good, fast and furious Volkner style. Just thought that I should give you guys a heads up before I start rampaging across all of your cities. So don't be too surprised if I drop by and say hello every now and then."

"Hold it right there, Volkner." Cynthia immediately cut in upon hearing those words. "Team Galactic is no small-time criminal organisation. We need-"

"_Excuse you,_ **_I_** am the expert here when it comes to anything crime related." Volkner argued back, obviously irritated. "This is **_not _**up for discussion. I'm just informing you guys out of the goodness in my heart. If you have complaints, take it up to Ashley. She approved this and gave me full control of the entire situation."

"Hey, you have to admit that all of these come a little too sudden for us. Team Galactic appeared like, one or two months ago? And _suddenly _we are talking about a large-scale operation to clean them all up without any prior context?" Gardenia made her opinion known rather loudly, breaking up the impending argument between Volkner and Cynthia.

"Right, **_context_**." Volkner drawled out with a roll of his eyes as images started to pop up on their screen one after the other. "Number one, the siege on my city, where I was forced to go Mega on my gyarados to repel all the enraged wild pokemon. Investigations confirmed that Team Galactic was behind this. They gathered a bunch of poachers with the excuse of looting the city during all the supposed chaos, the chaos that never happened since I managed to stop it in time with help from Jas. Real reason? I managed to find proof that Team Galactic either invented or got their hands on some sort of machine that can drive all wild pokemon crazy just from being near it. The Galactics wanted to test it, so they set their sights on Sunyshore. Dunno why pokemon under command from trainers were unaffected, the police are still working on it. I don't need to explain what will happen if every single wild pokemon go stir crazy if Team Galactic can rile them all up, do I? This enough reason for you?"

Volkner continued his rant as more images began to pop up.

"Number two, the attack on Fullmoon and Newmoon Island. Byron was there, so I won't go into too much detail. Long story short, if it wasn't for Riley and us getting to our region's Lunar Duo in time, they might have already fallen into Team Galactic's hands. Stark Mountain, I happened to also be there **_again_** to stop them from digging up more clues about heatran, **_during my goddamn vacation_**. Whatever Team Galactic's plan is, they definitely involve our region's legendary and mythical pokemon. I suggest everyone to go and check on your assigned legendary and mythical just in case."

More images flooded their screen.

"Number three. My porygon-z is already working with the League on rooting out their known bases and anything related to them. I already got a long list here and _OH MAH GAWD_-" Volkner did a very good impression of mock surprise mixed in with an unhealthy dose of sarcasm as he looked through a list on a separate screen. "-every city _except for_ **_mine_** has at least a few of their shady hideouts and some of their sponsors are actually big names in our region. The reporters will have a field day with the scandals."

"Then give us the list so we can all take them down together!" Maylene gritted out, fists clenched.

"And then what? This will only encourage them to bunker down and hide further underground, to wait until the storm has passed before coming back once more." Volkner questioned, a bored look on his face. "You guys are exemplary trainers, no doubt about that, but none of you guys save Flint have the brains or skill set suited for crime management. Team Galactic is a stubborn pest. If you want to get the vespiquen behind Team Galactic, you cannot get rid of all the combees. You need to let some of them go so that they can lead you back to its hive. _Then_ we can burn it down for good."

"That's risky." Wake cautioned. "If you let some of them go, and they ended up doing more harm than you can prevent-"

"_Or_ if I follow your suggestions and get all of the riff raff, but the main brain behind this spacesuit organisation gets away scot free and now have more time and information to prepare against us."

Volkner sighed and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair.

"Look, I know a lot of you don't like me. That's fine, the feeling's mutual. However, the reason why the League pushed **_me_** into this position despite my protests is because **_I _**am the **_best _**in Sinnoh when it comes to crime busting. You guys are more than welcomed to help me when I tour your cities beating up those Galactic goons. Or don't, I don't really care. I can take them down myself if I have to. You have opinions? Take them up to Ashley, she gave me full authority to deal with this Galactic problem however I deem fit."

Another image popped up, showing the portrait of a young man.

"This is Riley Slyde, my ex-apprentice and my would-be successor of Sunyshore Gym. If all goes well, he would succeed me in two years' time, give or take a little. I will be out of your hair and you guys out of mine. I can finally have my retirement and you guys would never need to deal with grumpy old me ever again. I tested Riley recently for his eligibility. Byron was there as a witness, ask Byron for details."

"How… _How _and why did the League suddenly approve of your resignation?" Roark blurted out.

"Why else do you think I am suddenly so proactive in taking down Team Galactic?" Volkner said in the most mocking voice that Candice had ever heard in her life. "Ashley and I came to an agreement. Team Galactic is too big of a problem, so I will root them out or cut it down to size such that they can never do anything that threatens Sinnoh on such a large scale ever again. Time limit? Two years, so that Riley will have enough time to grow into his future position while I deal with the Galactics. By then, the Galactics will either be gone, or would not be a big threat anymore. You guys can pick up the slack from there while I disappear from Sinnoh forever and enjoy my quiet retirement somewhere over the rainbow."

There was a brief pause before Lucian spoke up.

"How do you plan on juggling your usual duties as a Gym Leader while doing this?"

"I'm appointing Riley as my Assistant Gym Leader, it will help him gain some experience before he officially takes up the mantle. Flint will stand in to guide Riley if I'm gone for long periods of time."

"Wait, Volk, you didn't tell me anything about this!"

"Suck it up, Flint. You should have expected it when you pushed me to become a Gym Leader. I'm tired, hungry, angsty, and haven't been sleeping for the_ past 46 hours_ due to me conducting my own investigation on the Galactics. I don't have the patience or energy to argue with any of you."

"You could have at least cleared all these with _me_ first before calling for this meeting." Cynthia pointed out.

"And then what?" Volkner scoffed, ignoring Cynthia's scowl. "You and I would argue in circles for one entire week, and then decide to call a meeting like _usual_, and then grudgingly agree to do things **_my_** way in the end because I'm the one best suited for it. I swear, bureaucracy is the bane of efficiency. I'm just shortening the process and making it easier for everyone."

Another image pops up.

"Now, if you have been sleeping on everything thus far, now is a good time to wake up cos this is important. **_This man_**-" Volkner emphasised as a portrait of a stoic man with blue hair hovers on the screen. "-goes by the name of Cyrus. Funnily enough, he is also from Sunyshore. I have reasons to suspect that he is the ringleader of this whole Galactic saga. My porygon-z ran a background check on him, but he comes out clean somehow so I don't have concrete proof to charge him with anything. Even then, he had some suspicious interactions with certain shady people that linked him to the recent events that I will not share here. The lesser people know what I know, the higher the chances of me successfully solving this case."

"And why don't you want to let us know?"

"There's been a leak."

Volkner's statement made everyone quiet.

"Volkner." Byron said in a grave voice. "This is a heavy accusation to make."

"You think **_I_** don't know that?" Volkner rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying it is one of us, but I am sure that someone, or _someones_, high up in the food chain is working for the Galactics. It may be in the League, it may be in the Government. Maybe in both, maybe even one of us here. In any case, it explains why their higher-ranking members always managed to escape in the nick of time. The grunts we caught proved to be no help, they don't have much information about their own little boy band."

"So that's why you believe that there is a mole?"

"Among other things. For all we know **_I_** could be the mole, right? Anyway, this is just to remind you guys to watch out for the people around you. _Any _one of them could possibly be a Galactic spy sent to spy on you. Any information you happen to come across regarding the Galactics, send them straight to me personally through a secured line. Don't trust anyone else with what you know about the Galactics."

"Are we at least allowed to know what you are about to do, _specifically_?"

"Ashley will make a region-wide announcement soon, proclaiming Team Galactic to be a national threat to be dealt with extreme prejudice. The aim is to scare them. They will either grow bolder with their attacks or choose to hide. I say the former is more likely to happen since their actions are already growing bolder. From what we gathered so far, at this juncture, they don't seem to care if their organisation gets known by the public. In any case, we need to stop being so reactive to their actions, we need to start taking the _initiative_."

"Damn it, nothing is ever easy with you involved." Aaron complained.

"Shut it, bug boy. I didn't ask for this either." Volkner snapped back. "I was supposed to be a lighthouse keeper, not a Gym Leader taking on an entire underground syndicate. Oh yeah, before I forget, I suspect Cyrus' ability as a trainer is on par with those of a Gym Leader or even maybe on the level of an Elite Four. Don't engage him lightly if you ever see him. Always call for backup."

"Are you certain?" Candice found herself talking for the first time since the start of the meeting. To have such a trainer in their midst and not know a thing about it is a daunting thought.

"Certain enough to make this claim. Cynthia, if we ever find him, I am leaving this guy to you. He's too dangerous to be roaming around freely with whatever plans he is cooking up. The only person who I trust to have the power to take him down and come out alive is you. The League's information about him in our trainer database is likely outdated, so take it with a pinch of salt."

"Got it. You don't even need to ask."

"Good, in that case, onto a totally unrelated topic." Volkner yawned, and Candice finally noticed the eyebags around his eyes through the screen.

"You guys paid any attention to what Hoenn had been doing recently? Or more specifically, what the new Gym Leader of Rustboro supposedly contributed to their region before taking up her new position?"

"The trainer's school?"

"Yes, that." Volkner rubbed his tired eyes with a hand. "I suggest that we start looking into such a possibility. Our rookie trainers are surprisingly uneducated on how to be a trainer. Hell, even when my gym is the _last _in the gym circuit, I still encounter _Advanced trainers_ who still make rookie mistakes like catching a dragon when they obviously don't know enough about how to handle them or how to perform emergency aid for their pokemon when they are down. This kind of nonsense needs to disappear before such idiotic trainers become commonplace and start to harm not only themselves, but everyone around them."

"I second that." Roark spoke up immediately. "Since my gym is the first in the circuit, I often have to correct mistakes that Novice trainers make, but I cannot possibly keep an eye on every single one of them after they left my city and there is no guarantee that my words had sunk into the more stubborn ones. Having a trainer school to teach and rectify even basic things like how to properly approach a wild pokemon will take off a lot from my workload."

"I once had a challenger who tried to impress me by catching a ghost for himself. The ghost nearly ate him alive when he tried to use it against me in the gym challenge and my pokemon had to go and rescue him. All because he doesn't understand ghost types and has no idea what he is getting into." Fantina added with a frown on her face. "Having a trainer school where all aspiring trainers are at least being taught the basics on how to be a trainer will only be good for our region."

"Or mistaking an Antidote for a Paralyse Heal and nearly killing their own pokemon by mistake." Gardenia scoffed. "Seriously, just **_read _**the label on the medicine!"

"Or thinking that the best way to get themselves an electivire is to go climb the highest mountain they can find and then proceed to summon so many thunder clouds with repeated usage of Rain Dance, then let their electabuzz absorb the accumulated lightning to help them evolve into an electivire." Volkner yawned. "And then get the entire team killed by lightning for their stupidity when the electabuzz is not yet ready to receive and absorb the large increase in power and then die via lightning overload and _kaboom_."

There was a collective pause.

"If my memory serves me right, Volk, **_you _**did just that." Flint accused.

"My team and I _survived_. Not like you are any better. You actually went to the depths of Stark Mountain and bathed Burner in magma for _seven days and seven nights_ to evolve him into a magmortar."

"You two are the **_worst _**examples ever." Maylene summarised everyone's thoughts in their heads with a single sentence. "Can't you two just get an electirizer or a magmarizer?"

**_"They are EXPENSIVE."_** The two males responded in perfect sync before Volkner carried on in his speech. "Besides, unlike those fools, we know how to judge when our pokemon is ready to take in the increase of power necessary for evolution with the riskier method. I was thinking of compiling and then publicising what I know about electric types to be used in our region's trainer schools, if we are going to set it up. This includes how to approach, catch, train, and evolve each of them **_properly_**, and the risks involved in doing so. Hopefully that will help."

"You are _encouraging _trainers to summon thunderstorms with Rain Dance to evolve their electabuzz?"

"Look, there will always be idiots that attempt this kind of shit no matter what we do." Volkner defended his position as he did a lazy wave of his hand. "If that's the case, I'd rather give these idiots the proper knowledge on how to summon a thunderstorm **_properly_**, how to **_properly _**judge if their electabuzz are ready for evolution using the risky method, and then help the League **_properly _**regulate the select few areas in Sinnoh that one can possibly use to summon thunderstorms to evolve their electabuzz. If they want to be stupid and their stupidity cannot be prevented, the least we can do is to limit the dangers that their idiocy will bring to others."

"That… is a sound idea." Bertha nodded along. "Count me in for the trainer school idea. In fact, I think that each of us should publish what we know about our respective specialisation so that future generations can have proper knowledge to refer to instead of relying on questionable sources or word of mouth."

"Like a textbook?" Wake questioned.

"Probably." Bertha shrugged.

"We could even break the textbook up into four different levels." Byron mused. "From Novice all the way to Elite. Maybe this can really bring down the casualty rate of trainers that got themselves killed or injured because they were trying to do something stupid due to their lack of knowledge in the matter."

"From the looks of it, everyone is in on the trainer school and making our own textbook plan?" Flint asked.

There was a chorus of agreement.

"Of course, we must not blindly copy Hoenn's way of doing things." Lucian reminded everyone in that usual polite tone of his. "We can reference what Hoenn has been doing, but we also need to adapt their idea to suit our own needs."

"Someone will need to be the overall in charge of this, like how I am taking charge of the Galactic problem." Volkner insisted. "Too many cooks spoil the broth, as they say. I vote for Candice."

_Eh?!_

"M-Me?" Candice choked out as she pointed a finger at herself. "I'm the youngest one here! _The least experienced! S_houldn't someone with more experience take this job instead?!"

"I gave it a lot of thought. You are the most knowledgeable and one with the sharpest mind among us, that's why I gave you my vote if we are going through with this whole trainer school thing." Volkner said while trying to hide a yawn. "Anyway, there's no real hurry with the trainer school idea. Just think about it and if everyone is agreeable, then let's do this. If you need my vote, I voted for Candice, so don't drag me into this any further cos I already have a lot on my plate as it is."

"I'm on board with this." Cynthia spoke up. "But we should all take a few days to decide on _how exactly_ we are going to do this. This is not a small matter since it concerns how we train future generations of trainers, so think through it thoroughly. We will discuss it in detail in our next meeting."

"And that's the end of things on my part." Volkner yawned again. "Anything else?"

"Go and catch some sleep, Volkner. You look like you are about to drop dead." Bertha stated in that raspy voice of hers.

"Damn straight, I _am _about to drop dead." Volkner grumbled. "That's all from me, folks. You guys continue talking. Volkner out."

With a click, Volkner exited the video call, leaving the twelve of them still online.

"It's late, so I will keep things short. Do remember what Volkner just shared with us about Team Galactic, and do take the time to check on your assigned legendaries and mythicals just in case. I myself will work with Volkner and conduct my own investigation on Team Galactic and Cyrus. The rest of you just be prepared to be called upon to help at any time. Is this fine by everyone?"

Upon seeing the nods after Cynthia had spoken, the meeting was closed.

Candice let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she exited the meeting. The topics discussed were heavier than she thought. _Taking on the entirety of Team Galactic by himself?_ Volkner has to be certified insane to do that. The League are barely scraping the surface on how big Team Galactic truly is. How such a big terrorist organisation slipped past their radar is a mystery, but there's no denying that Team Galactic could potentially grow into Sinnoh's largest threat in its history.

Still, Volkner is doing _something _about it despite how un-Gym-Leader-like he is. He's also right, he's the best candidate for the job since he has the most experience out of everyone in busting crimes.

It still baffled her that he actually nominated _her _to spearhead a project as important as setting up a trainer school for their region from scratch. The youngest, least experienced Gym Leader. That's her. He trusts her to be capable enough to build the foundation of what will influence future generations of trainers. If all goes according to plan, she will have a large say on what will be taught to future trainers before they start on their journey.

The thought of it scares her. What did she do to merit such trust from him?

A gentle nudge from her glaceon brought her out of her thoughts.

Candice sighed as she decided to just go to sleep and worry about all these the next day. It's late. She will worry about everything else the next day when her mind is able to function better.

Hopefully, she will be up to the task as a member of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521****st**** Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**


	18. Chapter 18- What You Want to Be

"Oi, _wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong_. What the hell are you doing? Why the hell are you choosing to engage in a drawn-out battle against North? North's a _probopass_. She excels in a drawn-out battle and look at the skill difference between your pokemon and North. A drawn-out battle is not going to work."

"But how _else _am I going to bring North down?!" Kayla is near hysterics at this point. Volkner did make good on his promise to give her training from hell the moment he came back from his vacation. He still didn't quite get over the fact that she nearly got herself _killed _the last time she went on a mission with him. To be fair, so does she.

"Break through her defences in one swift shot, duh."

"Impossible." Kayla immediately replied. "North is a probopass. Her defences are ridiculous."

"And your pokemon running around her are going to do anything about it?" Volkner deadpanned. "She's also a Steel type. Moves like Toxic aren't going to work. What else are you gonna do?"

"But breaking through North's armour is just not going to work! She's like a wall of steel!"

"Allow me to demonstrate to you the impossible." Volkner got out from his seat at the side of the training field and gestured for Kayla's pokemon to come to his side. They did so willingly. Somehow, Volkner is so good at handling Electric types that most of them are willing to listen to his command to a certain extent as long as they are not outright hostile to him.

To get pokemon of his type specialisation to listen to him no matter if they belong to him or not, is this the power of an Electric Specialist?

"Alright, squirt. Which one is your strongest pokemon?"

"Woofy." Kayla answered without hesitation. Her manectric is definitely her strongest pokemon.

"Woofy, Electric Terrain. Then Charge."

Kayla watched as her manectric did just that upon Volkner's command. The rest of her team all did something similar as they began to charge their powers up further.

"Now, I want the rest of you to follow Woofy's lead. Concentrate all your attacks on a single spot. Thunder."

As one, her entire team unleashed a collaborative Thunder on North. It got so blindingly bright that she had to use her hands to shield her eyes from the light. When the attack died down, North is still standing upright and hovering in the air without a care in the world, but there's now an obvious crack in her armour. Not big enough to be easily noticeable, but it is there nonetheless.

"It's just a small crack." Kayla said as she turned around to face the Gym Leader.

"Better than not landing a scratch." Volkner countered. "As long as you made a dent, you can exploit it. Keep aiming at the same spot and force your opponent to keep defending that spot, or land more cracks on their armour. Either way, it just proved that even North cannot fully withstand the onslaught of a concentrated attack that is fired by your entire team. There's no way that you cannot make a dent if you put in the effort."

"But in real battles, people will not give me the time to set up Charge and Electric Terrain like that." Kayla quickly voiced her doubts. "They will be dumb to do so. The way North was raining rocks at us when it was fighting us earlier didn't give us the chance to do that too."

"Then that's _your _problem." Volkner pointed a lazy finger at her. "Find a way to do it. Get faster. If your Electric types are taking too long a time to use Charge, it's _your _job to get them to learn how to do it _faster_. Same thing goes for Electric Terrain. _You _are their trainer. If your team is good enough to use Charge and Electric Terrain simultaneously within a second or two you would not have been in so much trouble against North. As of now, your pokemon took _two _seconds to use Charge and _four _seconds to use Electric Terrain. _Six _seconds in total. What is six seconds out there in the field? More than enough time for the enemy to kill all of you."

Kayla looked away, knowing that Volkner is right about this. Her pokemon are definitely not experts in using Charge or Electric Terrain. She hardly uses those moves in battle because of how long it takes to cast them.

"Quiz time." Volkner let out a yawn as he changed the topic abruptly. "What do you think about Electric type as a whole? What are their characteristics? What are Electric types in a nutshell? What are their strengths and peculiarities?"

"Uh, they use electricity as their main form of combat?" Kayla spoke up, feeling a little dumb for phrasing her answers this way because it sounds so… _duh_.

"Well, yes. What else?"

"Uh…" Kayla trailed off as she tried to find a way to summarise what Electric types really are in a sentence or two. She came up blank.

"For electric types, most of them usually excel in either attack power or speed." Volkner broke the silence as he began to go into his lecture mode. "Some species got a little lucky and excelled in both departments. Some may have one or two defence mechanisms or tricks to fall back on, like how the eelektross species have the Levitate ability or how heliolisk have the move Electrify. Based on these observations, what does it say about Electric types as a whole?"

"They are… not that good in defence?" Kayla gave her answer, still a little unsure.

"Got it in one. Because most of them don't boast strong defences, their typing as a whole is very much like a glass cannon in battles. That is why you need to aim to finish the battle as soon as possible when using electric types. If you don't have power, rely on your speed. If you don't have speed, then rely on your power. That's how you train electric types. They are very specialised in what they do so you train them based on their specialisation. Then there's inflicting paralysis, but learning how to do it is a way more advanced topic to broach. That comes much later."

"You don't seem to favour that aspect of combat. Paralysis, I mean." Kayla spoke up as memories of seeing her Gym Leader in battle came to mind. Volkner had always been all about speed and power. There are not many times where he relied on paralysis to win his battles as far as she can recall.

"Paralysis is a delicate thing because it directly affects the nervous system." Volkner sighed and did a casual wave of his hand. "Overdo it too much and you cripple your opponent's pokemon for life, something you don't want to happen in a friendly battle. Too little and it's not gonna work. In high level battles where the battles are more like life-or-death battles, it's hard to control the electricity output to balance the extent of paralysis between deadly and non-crippling. Among the world's Thirteen Pillars that I know, Elesa's the expert in inflicting paralysis accurately and with devastating results. Clemont and Wattson are more on accuracy and tricks. Surge and I are all about power."

"But if I am facing a pokemon as well-trained as North with such high defences, I can make use of paralysis to prevent it from defending properly, right?"

"Technically, yeah. It is harder than it sounds though." Volkner nodded sleepily. "If you really want to learn how to use and inflict paralysis _properly _I _could _teach you what I know, but first, you have to pass _everything _else I have in mind for you. You up for it?"

"Of course." Kayla replied with determination, fists clenched. Never again. Never will she be so helpless ever again.

"Alright, let's go for round two." Volkner yawned again with a hand over his mouth. "Same thing. Your team versus North. We will focus on training your team to be able to quickly power up in the heat of battle and reduce the time needed for charging up the required firepower. Let's see if you can find a way on your own to help your pokemon shorten the duration of using Charge. I had already shown you one way to defeat her. You come up with the rest yourself."

Volkner still has the same lazy look on his face, but in his eyes is the harsh coldness that she only ever sees when he gets serious. He is going out of his way to train her to be stronger, but he is not coddling her.

The hidden message within his words is simple. If you want to get stronger, work for it.

* * *

"Uhm, Mr Tide?"

"Yes?"

"We've been walking around the city for two hours now. Is there… a reason for this?"

Volkner merely gave Riley a smirk.

"Why don't you tell me?"

Riley gave some thought to what Volkner had done in the past two hours. All he did was to walk around, greet the people who they met along the way, make small talk with them, introduce him as the new Assistant Gym Leader of Sunyshore to the people. In that case...

"To… endear me to the public?"

"That's only a small part." Volkner said as the two of them continue to stroll down the walkway that connects the east and west side of the city. "When we were at the Sunyshore Market and talking to old man Rob he mentioned that their goods are arriving into the port at a later time than usual. When that happens, it usually means that there is an increase in activity from the pirates. When we spotted John earlier, the technician maintaining the walkway that we chatted with, he said that newer versions of solar panels are out on the market so it's about time we talk to the city mayor if upgrading our walkways is necessary. When we were helping granny Susan to carry her boxes back to her home, we found out from her that her grandson who visited her here by travelling past Route 222 mentioned something about increased wild pokemon activity in the area. That means we should look into asking the League to station more Rangers at Route 222 for the people's protection and look into the reason for the increased activity."

Volkner stopped talking and looked at Riley, obviously waiting for him to fill in the blanks himself.

"You are gathering information." Riley said in realisation.

"Yes, I am." Volkner nodded and they eventually reached the Pokemon Rock, a giant rock formation at the east side of the city whose strange shape resembles a munchlax. "That's still not all. You are the one who will take over my position of Sunyshore's Gym Leader someday, Riley. Tell me, what do you think a Gym Leader really is? What do we really do?"

"We protect our city and the region." Riley answered without hesitation as Volkner gestured for him to sit down on the edge of the tall rocky cliff with him facing the Pokemon Rock. Volkner's electivire and Riley's lucario stood behind them, enjoying the sea breeze and the sight of the vast sea before them.

"Anyone can say that." Volkner shook his head. "I don't want a textbook answer, Riley. I want to hear what **_you _**think being a Gym Leader is all about."

Riley opened his mouth, only to close it again as he pondered over Volkner's question. The only thing filling in the silence is the sound of the sea breeze howling and brushing past them.

"Times are different from when I became Sunyshore's Gym Leader and when you will become the next Gym Leader." Volkner broke the silence as he spoke, eyes still looking at the scenery in front of them. "When I was first appointed as the 42nd Gym Leader of Sunyshore it was during chaotic times. Sunyshore was the poorest and most crime-infested city in Sinnoh. Crimes were rampant. People live their lives in fear every single day. Evildoers don't give a shit about law. The city was divided, quite literally. I earned the city's respect because I did what many of my predecessors before me couldn't do. I united the city and got rid of Sunyshore's underworld. But look at Sunyshore now."

Volkner gestured towards their surroundings. People are freely walking about with smiles on their faces through the walkways that connect the entire city. Children are running about and playing with each other without a care in the world. Wild pokemon observe the city from a distance in curiosity. From where he and Volkner are currently sitting, they can see people and wild pokemon interacting with each other in some of the feeding spots that are visible from here.

"It's a different Sunyshore now, Riley." Volkner said with a wistful sigh. "The approach I took will not work for you. You need to start thinking on the approach you will want to take, the type of trainer and Gym Leader you want to be. There is a reason why people call the Champion, Elite Four, and Gym Leaders the Thirteen Pillars, you know? We are literally the pillars supporting and holding the entire region together. If one of us falls, the region will suffer. We are icons. To many people out there, we are their idols and inspiration. People look up to us for strength and support."

Volkner turned his head to look at him.

"You say to be a Gym Leader is to protect the city and the region. It's not wrong, but you have to think a little deeper on the _how_. How are you going to protect the city and its people? What threats are you going up against? Not every threat to the city is easily visible. How are you going to find out more about the unseen threats lurking around in the city's darkness? There's no way you can find out if you just hole yourself up in the gym all day fighting challengers after challengers."

"But the job of a Gym Leader is to test the next generation of trainers and give out badges to those who earned their recognition, isn't it?"

"Grooming the next generation of trainers is our job, yes, but it is just a small part of it. You need to find out from the people what are the concerns that they face on a daily basis because it is them that you are protecting. You need to be an approachable figure that people will not hesitate to ask for your help if they truly need them. You need to lead the city and foresee the problems it will and might face in the future. It's not easy, Riley. Our job is not to simply give out badges in that small little gym. It's way bigger than that."

The waves continue to lap at the foot of the cliff that they are at.

"Well, if you want to see for yourself just how much children idolise their Gym Leaders, for starters, you can start by indulging the curious kids over there." Volkner gestured to the left with his head and Riley turned to see what had caught his mentor's attention. A bunch of children are doing a poor attempt to hide themselves out of sight behind a large piece of rock and are looking in their direction, staring at their pokemon in awe. Volkner waved them over with a hand, encouraging them to come closer.

"W-We didn't mean to disturb you!" A girl spoke on behalf of the group when the children finally mustered the courage to walk up to them. "W-We just never had the chance to see an electivire and a lucario in person before s-so…"

"Oh, it's fine." Volkner waved it off with a laugh. "Franky enjoys soaking up the attention anyway. Right, Franky?"

Franky struck a pose with a wide grin on his face, making the children look at the electivire in awe.

"Look at all those muscles…"

"When I was very young I once saw on TV how the electivire just destroyed the entire criminal gang in one attack. Like, kaboom!"

"I remember that one. Even the camera didn't manage to properly capture electivire's form. It just went like zoom! Then zing! Kabam! Like, like-"

"A yellow flash!"

"Yeah! It was literally a yellow flash!"

"Hey hey, what about the lucario? It's a _lucario!_"

"Aren't those supposed to be rare? Like, very rare?"

Riley spotted his mentor giving him the _Go Ahead_ look, so he tries to enter into the conversation.

"Lucarios are indeed rare and they are very strong fighters. Not only that, it has the ability to sense the aura of all things."

That seems to catch the children's attention immediately.

"Aura?"

"Everything and everyone emanates aura. Lucarios can read the thoughts and emotions of people through aura. Nothing can remain invisible to a lucario even if they cannot see them."

"Cool!"

"Like an x-ray vision, right?"

"Does that mean that lucarios can fight blind?"

"Now I want to get a lucario when I am finally old enough to be a trainer! Where can I get one?!"

"Didn't Cynthia have a lucario as well? If even our Champion has one that means the lucario species must be strong, right? Hey big bro, are you aiming to be Champion too?"

"That big bro's name is _Riley_." Volkner cut in with a lazy drawl. "He is my Assistant Gym Leader."

"Woah! Then he must be strong!" One of the boys said excitedly. "I want to be like you two someday!"

"You will get there with enough hard work and practice. Say, aren't you _curious _about what Riley's specialisation is?" Volkner asked in a secretive manner, as though he is about to reveal the greatest secret in the universe. It caught the children's attention immediately.

"Electric Specialist like you!"

"Nope. Try again."

"F-Fire! Like Flint!"

"Nope! Not Fire!"

"Wait, what? Almost everybody in Sunyshore wants to be an Electric or Fire Specialist like you and Flint! You two are our city's strongest trainers!"

"Riley is a _Generalist_." Volkner revealed the answer, earning many shocked gasps from the children because truly skilled Generalists are extremely rare to come across. Riley tried to fight against the embarrassed flush that is threatening to form on his face. He is still not all that used to the attention even if he had been expecting it.

"You mean, like _Cynthia?!_"

"Uh huh."

"S-So COOL! _GENERALIST!_"

"Hey big bro Riley! Whose lucario is stronger, yours or Cynthia's?"

"Our city's Assistant Gym Leader is a Generalist! Awesome!"

The two of them continue to spend time answering the children's every query before they leave to play elsewhere. Volkner and him watched as the children ran off into the distance until they were out of sight.

"See that? That's how much people idolise their Gym Leaders. We are the inspiration to the next generation of trainers. You will need to set a good example for the trainers in our region. People will try to emulate you and the type of trainer you are, especially the children, so think hard on the type of trainer you want to be. "

"The type of trainer I want to be." Riley repeated those words as he looked at his right palm and clenched it. For some reason, those words held a lot more weight than he thought possible. It's a question that he never thought about before.

He had been a pokemon trainer for years now, but never had he once thought about the type of trainer that he wants to be, the type of trainer he wants to show the world he is.

"You still have time. Just make sure you have an answer when you finally take over my position." Volkner placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "Come on, let's go back to the gym. There are still things I have to teach you before I go Galactic hunting tomorrow."

The two of them began to slowly walk back to Sunyshore Gym with the sun shining bright overhead. Riley's mind is filled with only one thought at that moment.

_What type of trainer do I want to be?_

Hopefully, he will arrive at an answer soon.

* * *

**AN: So yeah, I'm not dead. Here's another chapter for TSoS. Hopefully it won't be long until I match TSoS's timeline with the other pokemon stories and get them all together soon enough.**

**Doing a little advertising here. Out of curiosity I've recently joined a discord server that mainly caters to writers, a place where writers can all hang out, exchange ideas, look for betas, or simply chill and talk. Of course, readers are welcomed to join as well. If any of you want to find me there on the server I'm generally online on discord most of the time. For those who are interested, I will leave the link to the discord server below.**

**discord . g g / V54pcwA (remove the spaces)**

**In any case, hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521****st**** Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male **

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male **

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female **

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless **

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male **

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male **

**7\. Probopass (North), female **

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. ****Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. ****Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. ****Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. ****Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. ****Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. ****Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. ****Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. ****Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. ****Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**Kayla: Sunyshore Head Gym Trainer, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Elite Trainer**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Manectric (Woofy)**

**2\. Zebstrika (Zap) **

**3\. Galvantula (Spinner) **

**4\. Luxray (Star) **

**5\. Stunfisk (Fin) **

**6\. Alolan Golem (Gronk)**


	19. Chapter 19- Shaymin and Manaphy

They say time changes everyone. Flint thinks that this saying is a very apt description of what happened to Volkner.

He is still the same jovial man with a big heart. He is still the same lazy man who loathes to do anything that is not related to pokemon. He is still his brother in all but blood who will readily face down Arceus itself in a heartbeat if it means saving his life.

But he changed.

It has been close to two years since Team Galactic first announced their presence in Sinnoh by staging a siege on their hometown. Volkner was pissed because that incident nearly ruined his vacation plans with Jasmine and also because Kayla had nearly died. He still went on his vacation after that incident, but something had happened in that period of time. After he came back from his vacation, Volkner was tasked to take down Team Galactic in the shortest time possible. He is the best suited candidate for the job and for once, he didn't immediately decline the order given to him by the League.

And he hunted Team Galactic down with extreme prejudice.

Volkner is ruthless with his foes. His patience is obviously much thinner. He now has a much shorter temper and sometimes easily annoyed or frustrated by the most mundane of things. His relationship with the rest of the Thirteen Pillars is cordial at best and strained at the worst, depending on which other members you are talking about. You could have mistaken Volkner and Cynthia as mortal enemies with the way they talk to each other. Only a few people he knows can get along with him without trouble, like Jasmine, himself, Kayla, and Riley, just to name a few.

In Volkner's defence, he is definitely overtaxed. Even without the usual duties of being a Gym Leader weighing on him, Volkner is also facing constant self-imposed pressure in eradicating Team Galactic as fast as possible and also suffering from a severe constant lack of sleep. He barely slept more than six hours a day, and that is if he is lucky. The amount of sleep he usually gets is somewhere between four to five hours on average. Suffering from a lack of sleep for close to two years will make even the most patient of saints grow a nasty temper.

Riley takes care of the Sunyshore gym in Volkner's absence if he is out hunting for Team Galactic. Riley had made special arrangements with the SPF to be transferred to Sunyshore so that it would be easier for the both of them. It is an open secret by now that Volkner is grooming Riley to be his successor. Nobody had any objections. Riley is definitely skilled enough to be considered as a candidate of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars and he had also expressed an interest in being one.

With Volkner around, Sinnoh's efforts in crushing the largest terrorist organisation in their lands became a lot easier. In pokemon battles, Flint and Volkner are equals. However, when it comes to taking out huge criminal organisations, Volkner is definitely the expert among the two. The recently destroyed Team Galactic HQ at Veilstone is proof of that. No one had suspected that high-tech looking warehouse to be the headquarters of the most notorious villain group in Sinnoh. They had been literally hiding under their noses all this time without anyone the wiser. Only Volkner had managed to uncover this secret and eventually found out what the building was really being used for. He subsequently led the charge to apprehend and destroy that building with support from Sinnoh's own special forces and other members from the Sinnoh Thirteen Pillars, including Veilstone's Gym Leader Maylene.

From there, they found out several main bases of operations that Team Galactic had. There was even a big one at Eterna, much to Gardenia's horror.

The destruction of several of their main bases of operations was a heavy blow to Team Galactic. With nowhere else to go, Team Galactic turned to the most dangerous place in all of Sinnoh to hide themselves.

Mt Coronet.

The special magnetic field around Mt Coronet made it hard for anyone to track down the remnants of Team Galactic. The unstable terrain within the impassable mountain range means that rockslides are a common occurrence. It is too hard to conduct any form of operations within Mt Coronet, much less trying to search and apprehend Team Galactic. The only thing they can safely do is to increase the surveillance on the tunnels used by the Sinnoh populace in travelling between east and west Sinnoh to ensure that Team Galactic will not endanger the safety of Sinnoh's citizens. The League is monitoring the countless tunnels within Mt Coronet as best as they can, but there are simply too many of those for them to keep an effective watch. Team Galactic still manages to create trouble for the region every now and then. Whenever the League forces were sent to stop them, Team Galactic simply hid themselves within Mt Coronet once more and all traces of them would be gone. Everyone is frustrated at this, especially Volkner.

"Another day wasted." Volkner grumbled as he kicked a pebble within the tunnel that they were at. They were chasing for clues as to the exact location Team Galactic was hiding themselves within Mt Coronet, only to find themselves at a dead end again.

"At least we got them cornered." Flint said as he tried to lift the mood. Volkner is especially grumpy today since he didn't manage to have his daily unhealthy dose of coffee before he was dragged out on this mission.

"Cornered? You really think that is the case?" Volkner questioned as they both made it out to the west side of Sinnoh and Volkner released Myst. A blink of an eye later, they found themselves at the HQ of the Sinnoh League.

"Where are you going?" Flint called after his best friend when Volkner walked off in another direction and waved a lazy goodbye at him without turning back.

"Somewhere where I can sleep undisturbed cos I'm about to drop dead. Call me if you need me."

* * *

Volkner has been visiting Flower Paradise a lot more frequently nowadays.

Shaymin isn't complaining since Volkner is a nice human and his visit means that Flower Paradise will be a lot livelier. Volkner's pokemon are also fun to talk to and play with.

But why does Volkner always seem so tired?

Volkner always comes here to take a nap whenever he visits, saying that this is the one place in Sinnoh where he can sleep undisturbed. He does talk to Shaymin whenever he is awake, even if he cannot understand what it is trying to say to him.

At least he is a lot friendlier than Mark, the previous Gym Leader of Sunyshore. Mark only visits out of a sense of duty.

Shaymin knows that it is constantly guarded by the person who holds the current title of Gym Leader of Sunyshore. It has been that way for many moons. Its power is too great, and the good humans are afraid that any bad humans that got wind of its location will come and capture it for their own nefarious plans. They made a nice home for it in the secluded area known as the Flower Paradise at the north of the Sinnoh Pokemon League in order to protect it. From what it knows, a group of people known as the Elite Four were supposed to be its guards, but they are often wandering across Sinnoh to protect and uphold the peace across the land. So, the task of guarding it falls upon the Gym Leader whose city is the closest to the Flower Paradise. It was how this task was entrusted to generations of Sunyshore's Gym Leaders.

That was how Shaymin met Volkner, its current guardian.

Volkner treated it as his friend, often confiding with it what is currently going on in his life. Shaymin knows that Volkner loves his mate very much and wants to be with her one day. Shaymin knows that the land is currently in turmoil, even if it isn't as bad as it imagined it to be yet. However, Volkner is feeling very vexed about the current situation. It is one reason why Volkner constantly visits Flower Paradise among many others. Flower Paradise is the equivalent of his sanctuary, a place where he can rest undisturbed.

Volkner is now snoozing under the shade of a large tree. Flower Paradise is a large meadow covered with flowers of various colours, blooming under Shaymin's own powers. Shaymin often gave Volkner some of the Gracidea flowers that it personally grew as thanks for being its guardian. Volkner loved the gift and shared it with his mate by sending her the Gracidea flowers across the ocean to Johto where she lived. He had said that she had loved the flowers. It only encouraged Shaymin to share more of its Gracidea flowers with Volkner, especially if doing so can make him happy.

Shaymin doesn't like to see a good human like Volkner sad.

Despite Shaymin's fondness for Volkner, what puzzled Shaymin is Volkner's unexplainable affinity with electric types.

When Volkner first met Shaymin, he realised immediately that it feels lonely being the only pokemon in Flower Paradise. He was the only Sunyshore Gym Leader that noticed its loneliness. It took a while, but he managed to transport a few groups of wild electric types over to keep it company. With that, Shaymin now has friends to play with. The wild electric types had all said that they came here willingly after Volkner had sought them out. There are groups of electabuzzs, packs of luxrays, and nests of pachirisus and pikachus. A few of Volkner's pokemon had also found their mates here and have their own offspring. Upon Volkner's request, these electric types are also here to protect Shaymin if need be. In return for their services, Volkner will come here regularly to train them and help them get stronger, something which these wild electric types had eagerly accepted.

Somehow, Volkner has the unnatural ability to converse with electric types even without the help of psychic pokemon. Of course, he doesn't understand a single word that they are talking about, but he can still understand on an instinctual level what they are trying to tell him. When Shaymin asked Volkner's pokemon, they had said that it had always been this way ever since they met him. According to Franky, Volkner had also realised early on in his training career that his affinity with electric types is unusually strong. It was a big reason why he decided to specialise in training electric types halfway into his training career. Volkner had initially wanted to become a Generalist when he was still a young boy, whatever a Generalist is.

Shaymin had never seen someone as special as Volkner in its admittedly long life. It is like Volkner is a child favoured by the lightning itself. Maybe Arceus would know a thing or two, but Shaymin hasn't seen Arceus for a very long time. Arceus had gone into a long slumber countless moons back.

Volkner twitched a little before giving a loud yawn. He stretched his arms to its full length before sitting upright, rubbing his bleary eyes. He looked down and saw the blanket of Gracidea flowers that Shaymin had covered him with while he was asleep and gave Shaymin an amused look.

"Jas would be happy if I sent her all of these Gracidea flowers. She keeps telling me that I am spoiling her."

Shaymin did a happy run around Volkner. Smiles on Volkner's face are getting rarer nowadays. He is smiling today! Mission accomplished!

A group of young pichus immediately swarmed and jumped onto Volkner the moment they saw that he's now awake. Volkner waved his arms in a flustered manner as he was swiftly brought down by the group of mischievous baby pokemon that were running up and down his entire body and piling on top of him with their little bodies.

"Oi, oi, watch the hair! Watch the hair!"

_'Hey, let's make a nest out of it!'_

_'No! Let's plant some flowers on it!'_

_'Let's chew on it! I never tried chewing human hair before!'_

"OI! I know what you are thinking! You are trying to eat my hair, aren't you?!"

_'Hey, he understands us!'_

_'Didn't mama say that this human is special?'_

_'Really?'_

_'Really?'_

_'Really?'_

A chorus of '_Really_?' sounded out in the meadow as the baby pichus all start to parrot one another, although all Volkner can hear are squeaks.

"What are you guys squeaking about?" He asked as he finally got one particular persistent pichu off his messy hair and placed it on the ground. The pichu sniffed his arm curiously. Volkner is the only human that it had ever met.

_'What are you guys squeaking about?'_

_'What are you guys squeaking about?'_

_'What are you guys squeaking about?'_

_'What are you guys squeaking about?'_

_'What are you guys squeaking about?'_

Volkner squinted his eyes as he looked at the large group of baby pichus.

"You guys are just messing with me, aren't you?"

_'You guys are just messing with me, aren't you?'_

_'You guys are just messing with me, aren't you?'_

_'You guys are just messing with me, aren't you?'_

_'You guys are just messing with me, aren't you?'_

_'You guys are just messing with me, aren't you?'_

Volkner gave up trying to understand the babbles of the baby pichus when he saw Franky laughing uncontrollably at his plight. A few shinx cubs ran up to him eagerly as Volkner patted them with a hand. A few wild luxrays walked up to him and willingly nuzzled themselves against Volkner, a sign of their trust in him.

"Where's the little water baby?"

As if on cue, a splash of water squirted onto Volkner's face. Volkner clicked his tongue and sent an annoyed look at Manaphy, who is now hooting with laughter. Manaphy had decided to make its home in Flower Paradise as well shortly after Volkner became the Gym Leader of Sunyshore because of the friendly atmosphere here. The group of wild electric types also laughed when they witnessed the prank Manaphy just pulled.

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want."

Despite the fun times they shared, Volkner has to leave because the people out there need him. It is with great reluctance that Shaymin watched him leave. It knows that its feelings are also shared with Manaphy and the other electric types that made their home in the Flower Paradise.

_'I sneaked out to check on the lands today. Things are changing.'_

_'I know_.' Shaymin replied to Manaphy as they watched Volkner fly out of the Flower Paradise as he rode on Simba's back, bringing with him the large bag of Gracidea flowers that Shaymin had given him.

_'Something big is about to happen. I can feel it when I tapped into the power of nature. Even nature itself is restless. I think it is why Volkner is so stressed out. He did tell me that even darkrai nearly got itself captured by some of these bad humans a number of moons back.'_

_'Darkrai? Even him?'_

Shaymin nodded. If these bad humans have a way to give even the disagreeable darkrai trouble, then it is overall bad news for them.

_'I wonder if Volkner needs our help. He is one of the nicer humans. At least he found friends for us.'_

_'If he ever got himself into trouble, then all we need to do is to give him our help.'_ Shaymin answered readily. Battling is not its favourite pastime, but that doesn't mean that it is a slouch in this department. If these bad humans are giving good humans and pokemon troubles, then Shaymin wouldn't hesitate to lend Volkner its aid in ending them. It knows that Manaphy thinks the same way too.

_'Let's just hope that things will never get to that extent. If even **we **have to step in, then dark times are sure to be ahead. We hide ourselves from humans because our powers can be easily misused. It is also why even Arceus himself entered into a long slumber. Any intervention by pokemon like us can easily destroy the delicate balance of the world. We can only interfere with the world's affairs if there is no other choice.'_

Manaphy's right. The only thing they can do now is to hope that things will never get to that extent.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**


	20. Chapter 20- Resignation

**BOOM!**

"Run! He's here!"

"Who?!"

"HIM! THE SUN OF SUNYSHORE!"

**BOOM!**

The huge metal doors of the Galactic Hideout at Solaceon Town flew off its hinges, throwing those who are unfortunate enough to be too near to the point of impact far away from the entrance of the hideout. A line of yellow zoomed past them before bursting into a surge of electricity, shocking everyone in its vicinity that left them convulsing uncontrollably on the floor.

"Don't let any of them leave! Thunder Wave!"

More streaks of yellow zoomed into the hideout from the destroyed entrance before sounds of sizzling lightning could be heard. A mere second later, every member of Team Galactic who was in the hideout is now subdued, unable to move thanks to the shock they received from the Thunder Wave.

"Is that all?"

A Galactic grunt who is unlucky enough to be the nearest to the source of that lazy sounding voice slowly moved his eyes upwards, spotting the signature blue jacket and yellow hair of a certain individual who had struck undiluted fear in their organisation ever since their uprising two years ago. A monstrous electivire walked by the individual's side, buzzing with power as its red eyes scanned the area, daring anyone to try and stand up to its might. Numerous other electric types stood around the now compromised hideout, awaiting for their next orders.

"Take away their pokeballs. Jarvis, call the Special Forces in and inform them to prepare for immediate interrogation. I want them to spill everything they know before the sun rises again tomorrow."

This is Volkner Tide, Gym Leader of Sunyshore and the greatest threat to Team Galactic. He is so strong that the standing order for everyone in the organisation that is not their boss or their Admins is to flee on sight.

Because of Volkner, their organisation's expansion in Sinnoh had been severely hindered. They used to have close to two hundred bases of operations, big or small, scattered across the region at various places before their big debut. Over the past two years, that number has now dwindled to less than twenty because Volkner had been relentless and crushed every hideout he could find with extreme prejudice. He's also not alone. Members of the Sinnoh Thirteen Pillars often helped him when he needed it, but Volkner alone accounts for more than 50% of the destruction of their organisation's hideouts.

That's how good he is at weeding them out. Even the spies they planted in the Sinnoh Government and the Sinnoh League were not spared. With Volkner and Lucian working together, there was no one in their ranks capable enough in keeping their cover.

To solve this problem, there were attempts made at Volkner's life. However, every assassination attempt they had on him ended in utter failure. Each and every of their assassins were murdered painfully by his overprotective pokemon. His gallade's ability to sense the thoughts of others made it near impossible for anyone with hostile thoughts to get close to him. The League and Government had turned a blind eye towards Volkner's pokemon violent tendencies whenever it comes to an assassination attempt on Volkner's life, because he is just that good and valuable as an asset to Sinnoh. There are many leeways that only he enjoys because he is crucial in keeping Sinnoh safe and sound.

Even their attempts to get to Volkner by hurting those close to him ended in failure. Trying to hurt his gym trainers doesn't work, neither were their attempts on the orphanage that Volkner is so attached to. Flint is as strong as him, so aiming for him is akin to suicide. There's nothing they can do to stop, threaten, or blackmail Volkner.

**"DIE!"**

Another Galactic grunt, either through sheer willpower or foolish bravado, managed to fight through the paralysis of the Thunder Wave to try and stab Volkner from behind using a dagger. Volkner still looked as if he's half asleep with those half lidded eyes and not even turning around to acknowledge that grunt.

He didn't need to.

The electivire beside him simply extended its tail and caught the grunt by his wrist without even looking back. Another shock from the pokemon made the grunt scream so painfully that made them all averted their eyes away.

"Franky, don't kill him. He may have what we need."

The grunt was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor, unconscious. His eyes are already rolled to the back of his head and he is barely alive. Volkner lazily kicked the dagger away somewhere out of reach as he sat on a nearby chair of their pantry. He even had the audacity to pour himself a drink and open a new tin of biscuits while doing so.

"I have to say, you Galactics really do know how to enjoy life. The pantry here is even better stocked than the one in my gym."

"F-Fuck… you…" One of the grunts wheezed out, still wrecked with random bouts of spasm from the Thunder Wave.

"You guys need to be more creative in your insults. The F word gets old after a while, even the grannies at the Sunyshore Market can throw insults better than you do." Volkner casually replied as a loud crunching sound could be heard from the pantry. "Mmm, tastes good. I think I would stock my gym's pantry with some of these when I get back later."

Still munching on the biscuits, Volkner then walked up to one of the fallen grunts, who was visibly sweating in fear from being so close to Volkner.

"Now, since we have some time, let's play a game of twenty questions, shall we? Every single one of your colleagues I met did not have the answer I seek, so I _really _hope that you do in order to make things easy on my part. I would also hope that you are not foolish enough to try and do anything funny like trying to stab me while I'm doing the questioning, because the few who tried now sported electrical burns that will scar them for life." Volkner said in faux politeness as the raichu which had joined him by his side sparked menacingly to emphasise his point.

Volkner stomped his feet loudly near the grunt's face while leaning down to face him with the eyes of a predator, which made the grunt tremble further in fear.

"First question, _where _the hell is Cyrus?"

* * *

"Ma'am, this is the newest report on the Galactic problem."

Ashley took the printed report that her secretary gave her and quickly looked through it. Things seem to be looking good thus far. It is times like this that she is relieved that her region's Government and Pokemon League had a history of working together instead of independently like what the other regions do. It made it a lot easier to deal with problems as big as Team Galactic.

It's been two years since Volkner made a deal with her.

Cynthia was understandably not happy with her arrangement in giving Volkner full authority to deal with the Galactic problem however he deems fit, but she conceded that Volkner is the best candidate they have for the job. All Cynthia asked was that in future, such things need to be discussed with her first, because she is the Sinnoh Champion and things like these fall under her jurisdiction. Ashley had apologised for that and everything went back to normal thereafter.

With Volkner personally investigating Team Galactic, many of their bases were quickly found and swiftly rooted out. They were horrified that almost every single city had at least ten Galactic hideouts scattered throughout the region. Some were even cleverly hidden in plain sight, like the office building at Veilstone which serves as one of Team Galactic's strongholds. Getting rid of the Galactics in it required two Gym Leaders, three Elite Four members, and Cynthia herself. However, the combined might of nearly half of their Thirteen Pillars is nothing to scoff at. The Galactic building at Veilstone was cleared in just a few hours and the terrorists in it were all swiftly apprehended and sent packing to jail.

The important thing was that there were no casualties. Zero. It's a very impressive record considering the size of the operation.

From there on, Volkner had managed to slowly corner and herd the remnants of Team Galactic to slowly group up with each other in their desperate gambit to continue to survive. Like he said, if they were too swift in the extermination of the Galactic problem early on, it would only encourage them to bunker down and make it hard to uproot them once and for all. By taking it slow at the start and focusing more on gathering information instead of outright eradication, it made dealing with Team Galactic easier in the long run.

In just a mere two years ever since their sudden uprising, Team Galactic was suddenly reduced to a shell of its former self, but that doesn't mean that it is truly gone. Cyrus himself had never made an appearance and his skills as a trainer had been suspected to rival even those of an Elite Four. The four Commanders of the terrorist organisation are still at large, no doubt waiting for the right time to make their comeback. The remaining forces of Team Galactic regrouped and decided to lay low, eluding capture all this while.

Ashley closed the report in her hands shut. Volkner had finally made a breakthrough in his investigation on the whereabouts of the Galactic remnants with his latest raid. It's like what they had suspected all along. Team Galactic are indeed hiding in that place. They now have concrete proof and the only thing left to do is to conduct a very thorough search. It will take a while, but it can be done.

The Sun of Sunyshore shines so bright that it had cruelly exterminated the shadows created by the looming presence of Team Galactic, leaving them nowhere to run or hide other than Mt Coronet.

The situation for the still ongoing battle between the Sinnoh League and Team Galactic is still a stalemate ever since after the large scale operation successfully conducted at Veilstone. While Volkner is still in charge of weeding out any Galactic remnants hiding in their cities, Flint, Roark, Lucian, and Bertha were tasked to map Mt Coronet in order to find Team Galactic. They had made little progress on the situation because of Mt Coronet's unique geography.

_"Two years. I **will **wipe out Team Galactic within two years, or at least weaken them enough for the League and the Government to be able to handle them by themselves even without me around." _

Ashley tapped a finger on her table in a slow rhythm upon remembering those words said to her two years ago.

Volkner had made good on his promise. In just a mere two years, he had dealt such a crippling blow on Team Galactic that it will take at least a decade for them to get back to where they were when the terrorist organisation first started targeting their cities and their region's legendary and mythical pokemon. Now, all Team Galactic can do is to try their best and not get caught by the Sinnoh Forces or the Thirteen Pillars. Sinnohans no longer fear Team Galactic as much as they used to when they first heard the organisation staging a full siege on Sunyshore. Like the sun, Volkner's presence alone drove the darkness away and gave people hope and strength by dispelling the fear.

The Sun of Sunyshore, there is no moniker better suited to describe Volkner.

Ashley's thoughts were brought back to the present when the phone in her office rang. She picked it up, hearing her secretary's voice through the phone.

"Ma'am, Champion Cynthia is asking if you are free for a short meeting."

"I'm free. Send her in."

Minutes later, the Sinnoh Champion entered her office. The two most influential leaders of Sinnoh sat across from each other. They are each other's colleagues and also each other's best friends. It is lonely to be at the top. Not many would know what it means to be a leader or a Champion of an entire region.

"Have you received the report Volkner sent?" Cynthia started the ball rolling as they both sipped on some tea that Ashley had poured.

"I did. In fact, I had only just finished reading through it before you arrived. If it wasn't for Volkner, who knows how long we would take to complete what he did. Volkner had crippled Team Galactic so badly that the Special Forces alone should be enough to take it from here. There would be minimal need of assistance from the Thirteen Pillars from now on. What do you think?"

"My thoughts exactly. In fact, I'm here precisely because of that." Cynthia nodded her head once, tea cup still in hand. "Volkner didn't say anything, but it's obvious at a glance that he's overworked and overtaxed from dealing with the Galactic problem all by himself for two whole years. Flint also agreed with me, so I'm here to ask if you are agreeable in letting us make Volkner take a short pause from his crazed hunt for the Galactics. We will physically put him on rest if we have to."

They both shared a chuckle at the mention of 'crazed hunt'. With how relentless Volkner is in ridding Team Galactic, it's like Volkner is obsessed with seeing them gone.

However, Ashley knew better. She knows the real reason why Volkner wants to get rid of Team Galactic as soon as possible. He had fulfilled his end of the deal spectacularly.

"Truth to be told, I am partly the reason why Volkner took the initiative to hunt down Team Galactic. I am also the reason why he's so seemingly obsessed with seeing them gone. I was thinking if I should fulfil my end of the bargain now."

Cynthia's eyes narrowed at the word.

_"Bargain?"_

Ashley let out a tired sigh. It's not like she enjoys keeping secrets from Cynthia, but sometimes things have to be done even if she's not proud of her deeds. On the contrary, she hated doing what she had to do at times.

Given the current circumstances, it's time to let Cynthia in on the real reason why Volkner even took up the position of Sunyshore Gym Leader in the first place.

It's only fair.

* * *

She couldn't believe it.

_Blackmail_. Volkner had been _blackmailed _to take up the position of Gym Leader. No wonder he's always so pissed at everyone and anyone.

A _deal_. Volkner had struck a _deal _with Ashley to allow him to be a free man again. No wonder he's so insistent on dealing with the Galactic problem as fast as possible, almost to the point of obsession.

It made her head spin at the severity of it all. They are lucky that Volkner accepted the responsibility of Gym Leader despite all of the unfairness and not abuse his authority as one. They are lucky that Volkner didn't lash out violently or spill the dirty dealings that the Sinnoh Government and the Sinnoh League did behind closed doors. Even she has no idea if she can fully stop an angry Volkner.

And when Ashley had admitted to everything between her and Volkner, the President of Sinnoh asked for her professional opinion if they should finally let Volkner go. Cynthia had immediately replied with a 'yes' because no matter how much they don't get along as fellow colleagues, she still has a great deal of respect for Volkner.

Not just for his abilities as a trainer, but also for his undeniable contributions to Sinnoh.

In the seven years since he became a Gym Leader, he single handedly transformed Sunyshore and tripled the city's economic growth, drove down crime rates in the region to a bare minimum, exterminate more than 50% of criminal organisations that had taken residence in their homeland, dealt such a severe crippling blow on Team Galactic that they can never properly rise again.

He had done so much, yet asked for so little. No matter how un-Gym-Leader-like he is, Volkner is still an exemplary Gym Leader.

So, when she learnt the truth of how he even got recruited in the first place, she had immediately agreed to let him go. She knows that he is planning to move to Johto for good when he retires from his position as Gym Leader and that they would probably never meet again, but that's fine with her.

Volkner had been overtaxed ever since he became a Gym Leader. It's time he gets himself a break. A long one this time.

She decided to personally deliver the news to Volkner himself. With her pokemon's help, she soon arrived at Sunyshore Gym.

There is an ongoing gym battle when she enters the gym. She stayed out of sight when she saw a challenger taking on Riley and his lucario on the difficulty of the Elite level. When Volkner had appointed Riley as his successor, it had garnered her interest. She even had a battle with Riley once as fellow Generalists and she wasn't disappointed.

Riley will make a fine Gym Leader. In time, he really might surpass Volkner and become the new Sun of Sunyshore.

Riley's improvement in these two years is astonishing. Under Volkner's guidance, Riley is now one of the strongest trainers Sinnoh has to offer. Riley had slowly begun to take over more and more of Volkner's duties as Gym Leader during the past two years. Because of this arrangement, it is no secret to everyone in Sinnoh that Riley would be the next Sunyshore Gym Leader after Volkner. Many in Sunyshore lament the fact that Volkner will be leaving them one day, even if they are not privy to the reason why he is leaving. To the citizens of Sunyshore, Volkner is the reason why their city is able to enjoy the prosperity that they are basking in today. They are sad to see him go.

She stealthily bypassed the arena and headed straight for Volkner's office. Knowing him, Volkner must be catching up on his lost sleep in his own office while pretending to be doing work.

Her right eye twitches a little in annoyance when she finds out that she's _right_.

"Wake up." She rapped her knuckles on his office table, not allowing herself to be fooled by those stupidly lifelike eye stickers once more. Volkner gave a loud yawn before peeling those stickers off his eyelids and opening his bleary eyes.

"Cynthia? Why are you here?"

The Undefeatable Queen of Sinnoh crossed her arms as she sat herself down on a chair on the other side of the table.

"I heard you struck a deal with Ashley two years ago. Ring any bells?"

"Oh, that?" Volkner only raised an eyebrow slightly at that remark. "Did you find that out by yourself or did she spill the beans?"

"She admitted everything to me, including how you really ended up as a Gym Leader in the first place. Very different from what I was told when you first took up the position. Can't believe I was fooled by your stupid reason of '_losing a bet to Ashley in a game of poker'_."

Volkner's grin at the mention of that really made her want to wipe that smile off his face for some reason. Still, she held in her annoyance.

"You say _stupid reason_, but all of you still ate it up."

"Good job on that." Cynthia snorted. For once, the two of them are not at each other's throats. What a miracle.

"No, seriously, why are you really here?" Volkner lay back on the backrest of his chair with his eyes half-closed, obviously still suffering from a lack of sleep.

"Collecting your letter of resignation. Ashley said that she's fulfilling her end of her bargain since you kept the end of your deal."

There was a brief moment of silence before Volkner started to slowly sit upright to face her, now fully awake.

"Tell me that this is **_not _**a joke, Cynthia."

She made a move to get out of her seat.

"Since you don't believe me, I will just go back and tell Ashley that you decided to stay on because you had grown to like your position as Gym Leader. Goodbye, Volkner."

Just before she could put her hand on the doorknob, there was a sound of something whistling as it was thrown at her through the air. Her hand reached out to grab the envelope that might have hit her face if she didn't intercept it in time.

"You **_really _**have a letter of resignation at the ready at all times?!"

"The very first thing I did ever since I became a Gym Leader seven years ago was to type the letter out. I made sure to print one out every single day and send it to the League."

Cynthia opened the letter and her annoyance for the man quickly grew. Volkner had printed his official letter of resignation on the very back of what was a _grocery list_ on what to stock up for the pantry of Sunyshore Gym.

"You couldn't even have the _decency _to print it out properly?"

"Hey, save the planet! Go green! All I did was to print the letter on the back of recycled paper!"

Cynthia could only rest a hand on her forehead and sighed.

"Whatever. See you and Riley at HQ at the end of the month. We will get the both of you to sign the official papers there. Just make sure you handover your duties to Riley properly by then."

Volkner had a look of suspicion on his face.

"_That's it?_ No more blackmail? Hidden agendas? Dirty politics? I really get my wish to finally scram out of here?"

_"Yes." _Cynthia stressed. "Trust me, even I was surprised that you actually were blackmailed into the position in that manner. You will be a free man in a month, Volkner, I give you my word. You had done more than enough for Sinnoh in these seven years. Unless, you want to take back the letter in my hand and continue staying on-"

"**Nope**." Volkner waved it off without hesitation. "Hell no."

"Then see you at the end of the month." Cynthia replied as she opened the door to walk out of it. She took a brief pause before turning back to face the man which she had always been at loggerheads with ever since they got to know each other. She is even giving him a rare smile.

"And for what's it worth, Volkner, thank you. Thank you for what you had done for Sunyshore and Sinnoh."

Volkner was visibly surprised by her words, but he quickly composed himself.

"There's no need to thank me, I'm just doing my job. And Cynthia?"

"Yeah?"

"A genuine word of advice from a friend, someone of your age should really start looking for a boyfrie-"

She immediately slammed the door shut behind her and stomped off, ignoring the howling laughter she can hear from behind that door.

_Once_. _Just this **once**,_ she will tolerate his antics.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**


	21. Chapter 21- Leaving

The cardboard boxes stacked in the corner of the office reminded Kayla that it is all too real.

Volkner is stepping down soon.

She had thought that it was just another prank or joke, because Volkner always talked about stepping down all the time but yet it never happened. But this time, it is real. He is really leaving soon, passing on the gym and the title of Sunyshore Gym Leader to Riley's hands. Not many knew how Volkner finally managed to convince the League to let him go. Riley had resigned from the SPF to take over the job. The official handover is scheduled to happen a week later.

She really doesn't want to bring herself to believe this, but it is happening.

Volkner is more than just her Gym Leader, her superior, or her mentor. He is like an older brother figure to her at this point. He is the reason why she stayed on in this gym as his Head Gym Trainer for as long as she did, even when he keeps telling her that there are better prospects elsewhere and she should really consider them for the sake of her future. He kept telling her that she could be so much more and she should not let herself be constrained to the small Sunyshore Gym. She declined every single job offer made to her from elsewhere. She can understand why Riley held Volkner in such high regard. She does too. Volkner is the only one who she will want to work under.

And he is leaving.

He had tried to source for better jobs for her. Not only her, but for Marco and Vicky too. Like her, they had initially decided to stay on in Sunyshore Gym out of their immense respect for Volkner. The lazy, insufferable, annoying Gym Leader that they all talk about behind his back, complaining about his flaws and toasting to their shared annoyance and pain in having to deal with him as his unfortunate subordinates. Yet, they would never hesitate to complete his orders if he asked them to. If he asked them to help him take down Team Galactic, they would immediately put down whatever they are doing to help him out. That's how much they respect him.

He is more than just their mentor.

Volkner had gotten extremely busy during the two years after the first siege on Sunyshore done by Team Galactic. The siege where she nearly lost her life. Volkner was mad at her two years ago and that was an understatement. He literally chewed her out the moment he returned to Sunyshore after repelling the siege with Jasmine, saying that she better prepares herself for a gruelling training regime he will purposely design for her the moment he has the time to do so. The moment he got back from his vacation, he held true to his promise and put her through hellish training so that such an incident will never ever happen again. The same goes for every single gym trainer that came and went during these two years. Volkner cares for them despite how often he trolls and annoys them. Putting them through hellish training was the only way he knew how to keep them safe. So, no one complained.

They all got stronger because of it.

She, Vicky, and Marco are the only 'veterans' of Sunyshore Gym left. They came to a unanimous agreement that they will also leave when Volkner left. That also meant that Riley will have to find his own gym trainers. Vicky and Marco took Volkner's offer in getting a job at a trainer's school, teaching children aspiring to be trainers how to be a proper one. Volkner was inspired by how Roxanne from Hoenn had recently done it for her region and hence, despite his crazily insane hectic lifestyle, still somehow managed to find time and worked with Candice, the Gym Leader of Snowpoint City, to do something similar for Sinnoh. Candice did most of the planning and designing of the curriculum, while Volkner and some of the other Gym Leaders gave input on the administrative side of things when needed. Candice is extremely knowledgeable about pokemon even among the Thirteen Pillars which was probably why Volkner asked for her help. Their efforts were also supported by their fellow Thirteen Pillars, especially Cynthia (_and wasn't that a surprise, Cynthia actually supporting Volkner's idea_), since everyone can see the benefits behind such a proposition.

The school still isn't ready yet, but it has passed the conceptual stage and the plan should be ready to be implemented within the next year or two. Right now, they are finding the necessary staff for the future schools that are to be set up across Sinnoh. Candice and Volkner both agreed that they must be strict in their employment requirements, insisting that these future teachers must know what they are doing. They must have deep knowledge about pokemon, how to handle them and not only that, know how to actually teach properly. They are even trying to convince well-known retired trainers to help teach, to share their experiences with the future students who will be going on the very same adventure that they all did. Volkner and Candice are hoping to set up at least one of such schools in each major city at the very least. If all goes well, Vicky and Marco will be teaching at the school that will be set up in Sunyshore.

But Kayla isn't sure if she wants to be a teacher. The offer is still up there for her, Volkner had told her many times that wherever she wants to go and whatever she wants to do, all she needs is to give him a call and he will personally write in a recommendation for her. The pay is good too. He told her that she is way beyond her peers and is capable enough to go anywhere she wants to go.

But the point is, she really has no idea what she wants to do that is not being Volkner's Head Gym Trainer.

Volkner will be moving to Olivine for good, to live with Jasmine where the two lovebirds are planning to start the next chapter of their lives together. Kayla is sincerely happy for them, so is Vicky and Marco. Vicky and Marco had also entered into a relationship with each other, they are her best friends and Kayla is also happy for them. They all lament at the fact that Volkner is leaving Sunyshore but they know that he had given a lot during his short time here. Volkner had sacrificed too much to help protect and develop Sunyshore into what it is today. He deserves his rest.

Maybe the fact that she is currently at a loss of what she wants to do is too apparent on her face, but Volkner had offered her to come with him to Johto, to Olivine, saying that maybe a change in scenery is what she needs and she might as well help him out in the upcoming wedding he and Jasmine are planning together since she has nothing to do. The wedding will be held at Olivine's beach where the two first met and had their first battle. The last time Jasmine came over was two months ago and Volkner had proposed to her. It was a big event since Volkner had gone all out. The lighthouse literally shone 'Will you marry me' into the dark night sky on that very day as Volkner went down on a single knee with a ring in hand. As to how Volkner managed to do that to their Vista Lighthouse without getting caught, no one knew. Needless to say, Jasmine immediately said 'yes'.

That was how the two got engaged. The entire city was baffled as to **_who _**was bold enough to modify their city's lighthouse in that manner and for some reason no one suspected their beloved Gym Leader. Volkner got a kick out of being the 'secret mastermind' behind the entire affair, enjoying hearing about the conspiracies and speculations flying about on which mad genius was crazy enough to modify the beam of light their city's lighthouse shone whenever he walked into town. Those who were let in on the fact that Volkner was the mastermind simply rolled their eyes when they learned about this.

In the end, Kayla accepted Volkner's offer. Like he said, maybe a change in pace and scenery is what she really needs right now. Besides, Jasmine is a really nice person to be with. Volkner and Jasmine both said that Olivine and Sunyshore are really alike in many ways, so she does not need to worry about not fitting in there. Kayla is a single child who was raised by her mother, her only parent and family, and she passed away a year ago from an illness. It was a trying time for Kayla, but she had support from her friends and Volkner. It was their support that they gave her when she was at her lowest that made her so fiercely loyal to them now.

There's really nothing keeping her in Sunyshore anymore, so she decided to move to Olivine as well.

Volkner said nothing but ruffled her hair with his hand when she told him his decision. That action conveyed to her everything he wanted to say to her without a single word. Volkner knew better than anyone what it feels like to not have a family. He is looking out for her in his own way. He even somehow got her a small cottage a short walk away from his and Jasmine's future house. He paid for _everything_ himself, much to her shock. He told her that it doesn't matter if she chose to stay there or not, only that should she ever want a place to return to, there will always be a place for her at Olivine where he will also be living. That place will be her home if she wishes it to be.

And that really moved her to the point of tears.

Volkner is still dissatisfied at the state of things in regards to Team Galactic. He had wanted to completely purge them, but the fact that it is simply too hard to get rid of the Galactic remnants who had taken to hiding within Mt Coronet even for someone as powerful and experienced as him. Still, Volkner had done enough. Team Galactic is no longer a big threat to Sinnoh thanks to his contributions. They still are a threat, but at least they won't be launching another siege on any other city anytime soon. Volkner passed his job on to Flint, Aaron, and Riley, who will continue to keep an eye out for Team Galactic and see to its eventual downfall.

Volkner had also paid for the tickets to Olivine for the entire orphanage so that they could also attend his upcoming wedding. The kids are all excited about it. He also gave the older kids their starters. Anne herself was especially delighted at receiving a pichu from him, one which Volkner said is Sparky's offspring. He never forgot about Anne's request in wanting a pichu even after so long. Despite how annoying he can be, Volkner is undoubtedly a man with a big heart. He is a man who shines as bright as the sun.

The Sun of Sunyshore, that's who Volkner is.

"Not packing your stuff, squirt?"

"Packed them a long time ago." She shrugged as she turned around and saw Volkner walking up to her, a hand in his pocket and the other holding onto a half-eaten sandwich.

"Finally." Volkner said while still munching on his sandwich as he surveyed the mostly emptied office with satisfaction, the office that belonged to generations of Sunyshore's Gym Leaders. "I've been fantasising about this day for _years_."

"How many resignation letters have you sent throughout these years?"

"Two thousand four hundred and ninety-nine."

"Wait." Kayla looked up in shock at Volkner's nonchalant face, not actually expecting an answer for her previous question. _"You kept count?!"_

"Well, duh."

"_Two thousand four hundred and ninety-nine_ letters. That is so not environmentally friendly."

"I used recycled paper for every single one of them."

_"Still."_

"Hey, _recycled_ paper. My letters are printed on the unused side. I can be environmentally friendly if I want to be."

"**_Who_** even prints their _resignation _letters on the other side of rough paper?"

Volkner pointed a finger at himself.

"You are looking at him. Gym Leader extraordinaire."

"How did you even convince the League to let you go?"

"Secret." He said with a wry smile, like holding in the truth of the universe that only he is allowed to know.

"Tch." She clicked her tongue at that statement. "Only Jasmine can tolerate all the nonsense you say on a daily basis."

"You say that now, but maybe you will end up a guy who speaks even more nonsensical things than I do."

"Won't happen."

"Famous last words. If there's one thing I'd learnt in the past twenty six years of my life, squirt, is to **_never _**tempt fate."

"Never tempt fate? What did you tempt and it actually happened?"

"That I would **_never _**be a Gym Leader. Guess who ended up becoming the strongest Gym Leader of his generation?"

"... For real?"

"Duh."

"Crap." She blurted out after a few seconds of silence. "What I just said is already tempting fate, right?"

Volkner snorted.

"Yeah, crap for you. Good luck, squirt."

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Main team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**Pokemon used for Gym challenges**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**


	22. Chapter 22- Moment of Peace

"And this is why you don't interrupt a heracross when it is sipping on honey. Next question on bug types, how do pinecos grow?"

"I know, I know!" One of the young children that Volkner is currently teaching raised his hand excitedly in the air. "They add layers of tree bark onto their shell!"

"Thank you, Ben. Splendid answer." Volkner praised the child in the small classroom that he is currently teaching at as the entire class sat in one big circle on the floor, chairs and tables stacked neatly to a side of the room to create the needed space. Volkner had never been a fan of the typical classroom-style teaching method.

"And pinecos stay still hanging in the trees because…"

"They wait for their prey!" A few of the children shouted out their answers in unison. "And you cannot disturb them while eating or they will fall onto the ground and BOOM!"

"Yes, precisely that. So the next time you guys ever see a tree hanging with pinecos you-"

"Avoid them!"

"Correct. Good job."

The bell rang.

"Alright! Pack up! School's over! Class dismissed!" Volkner clapped his hands once in a jovial manner as the children all whooped in joy. "We will be having practical sessions tomorrow on handling bug types, so remember to read up on chapter 3 before then!"

**"Yes, Mr Tide!"**

With a chorus, the children exited the classroom like beedrills buzzing out of their hives. Kayla decided that now is the time to enter.

"Volkner."

"Hey, squirt." Volkner replied as he manually moved the tables and chairs back to where they were supposed to be. Kayla helped him out as they shifted the furniture.

"How long have you been waiting outside?"

"Only about a minute or two. How's your class?"

"You saw the kids. Today is more like a refresher for what they need to do tomorrow. Hands on is always the best way to get children to learn about pokemon. Hey, what about that Max kid from your class? Is his application to get a Regional Starter from Professor Elm successful?"

"Max successfully got into the initial selection to be one of the few recommended trainers. If all goes well, he should be able to pass the second selection before attempting the final one." Kayla replied absentmindedly. "On a side note, I just got a text from Marco and Vicky. Marco finally worked up the guts to propose to her, it seems."

"Oh? No surprises there. He kept texting me for tips about a month ago. I must have been a very good teacher."

"_I knew it._" Kayla groaned with her palm over her face. "The way he proposed to her looks too much like your handiwork. No way Marco is smart enough to think of everything himself."

"But the important thing is, did Vicky eat it all up?"

Kayla's right eye twitched as she reluctantly gave her answer.

"Yes."

"Then it is a success. What are you complaining about?"

With their job for the day done, the two of them left Olivine's Trainer School, walking side by side.

It had been more than a year since Volkner retired from his position as Sunyshore's Gym Leader and moved here to Olivine.

Roxanne from Hoenn, the Gym Leader of Rustboro, had started the idea of having a trainer school system in her own region almost five years back. The motivation behind it was because the then gym trainer had witnessed too many deaths and injuries in both pokemon and novice trainers alike, because not all novice trainers had equal access to knowledge about how to handle pokemon. In hindsight, it's a wonder why nobody thought of doing something similar earlier. There are schools to teach children basic knowledge, but no school in any region to teach aspiring trainers how to handle pokemon until very recently.

Roxanne's idea succeeded. The mortality rate of novice trainers just starting out on their journey in Hoenn dropped drastically the moment her idea of having a trainer school took off.

Roxanne's success in her own region had quickly encouraged other regions to do the same. Now, almost every region is trying to implement the same Trainer School concept to teach children who are aspiring to be trainers. Letting aspiring trainers attend the Trainer School before they became official trainers soon became mandatory as per the orders of the League.

Most children sit through the three years course, although sometimes there will be one or two child geniuses that will pop up here and there. They can graduate immediately if they fulfil a few criterias. Firstly, they need to pass the same exams that the third years are sitting through. Secondly, the child in question must be willing to skip grades. Thirdly, both the parents and his/her teacher must agree to the early graduation arrangement. Only then can a child skip the full three years and become a pokemon trainer earlier than their peers.

"I'm going to have to make a detour to pick up Fluffy and Amphy from the lighthouse. You coming?"

Kayla did a shrug of her shoulders.

"Why not? It's not like we are in a rush."

Ten minutes later, Olivine's Glitter Lighthouse is in sight. It is the place where Volkner and Jasmine held their wedding two years ago.

"Bellossom, Moonblast!"

The sound of a pokemon battle could be heard ahead. The two of them hid themselves behind a wall and observed the two trainers commanding their pokemon. On one end is a trainer and his bellossom, on the other is another with her sunflora.

"Sunflora, Sludge Bomb!"

They both took the unanimous decision to continue watching silently without getting spotted. There is a faraway look in Volkner's eyes as he took in the sights of the battle.

He hasn't been battling ever since his resignation.

"Volkner?"

Volkner jolted a little when she poked him on the shoulder, confirming Kayla's suspicions that he was indeed lost in his thoughts.

"Ah, sorry about that, got lost in my thoughts."

"It's fine." Kayla reassured the person who used to be her superior, her Gym Leader. The person who had trained her to be what she is today. The person who had looked after her like his own sister when she had nowhere else to go after her mother, her only remaining family, had passed away. He had offered her to come with him to Olivine where he had decided to live the rest of his life with Jasmine, telling her to take all the time she needs to think until she found a new purpose in life now that she is not a gym trainer. When a trainer school in Olivine was founded shortly after they settled down in Johto, Kayla took his suggestion and tried her hand in becoming a teacher, imparting to the younger generation what she knew about pokemon.

Kayla ended up loving the job. She can tell that Volkner loves it too, because it allows him to continue to work with pokemon apart from battling.

Upon Volkner's recommendation, Riley was nominated as the person who will take on the mantle of the 43rd Gym Leader of Sunyshore. Volkner had been grooming Riley for that role for years and there was nothing left that Volkner could teach him. Volkner thinks Riley is ready. Volkner had absolute faith that Riley will be the one who will eventually surpass him and Kayla can see why. In the two years since Riley became a Gym Leader, he had not let anyone down.

However, Volkner never took part in pokemon battles again after his resignation. He still took great care of his pokemon and trained them when they asked for it, but he never took part in battles again.

The reason? There is no longer anyone that can give him a good challenge. The few who can are either too busy to come down and find him for regular visits or see no reason to battle him. Volkner and his pokemon are so ridiculously strong that he became bored from having a lack of worthy foes appearing before him, so he decided to just drop pokemon battling altogether.

"Solar Beam!"

Taking care to not get in the way of the battle occurring in front of them, Volkner and Kayla walked around it and proceeded to climb the lighthouse.

"Remember the time when my dream was to be Sunyshore's lighthouse keeper and I keep asking you to send in my letter of resignation for me?"

"How could I forget about that? You were an ass. Still are."

"Guilty as charged."

They both reached the top of the lighthouse soon enough. Amphy and Fluffy greeted them excitedly upon spotting them.

"Hey there, had fun?" Volkner patted Fluffy with his hands, arms wide open when Fluffy all but demanded a hug from him. "You and Amphy made another egg or something? Yes? No?"

"They did." Kayla replied when her eyes spotted _another _pokemon egg at the area where the two ampharos were at. "The mareep population back at your house is only going to get bigger. You and Jasmine can already start your own mareep farm."

"Good thing we own our own plot of land big enough to build an entire forest." Volkner snorted. "I knew it was a wise choice to buy all the land around our house when Jas and I moved in."

Kayla rolled her eyes in response, knowing that Volkaner wasn't kidding.

A wide variety of pokemon lived in the absolutely massive plot of land that Volkner had bought where the home he had built with Jasmine is now at. Despite the area looking more like a forest than anything else, the married couple had referred to it as their own reserve because not only is it large enough to be one, the purpose of the land is very much the same as those of a nature reserve. There are packs of the elekid line, shinx line, pikachu line, mareep line, voltorb line, magnemite line, and many other electric types that made their homes near the various mini power plants Volkner had built for them to live in within the reserve. Each of the power plants are the size of a small house, its primary function is to provide a steady food source for electric types. The generators in it are powered by the sea surrounding Olivine by connecting the numerous turbines laid on the seabed that are linked to the power plants.

Jarvis had thoroughly enjoyed himself when helping to plan the entirety of this project with Volkner. The success of the project was largely attributed to his efforts and meticulous calculations.

The entire span of land also houses a few steel types, although they are mostly made up of colonies of magnemites, the few arons that Jasmine had introduced into the reserve because she found them cute, and the occasional few wild skarmory that dropped by. Other species of wild pokemon had also soon chosen to make their homes there as time passed, living peacefully with the two humans who created such a haven for them. Since the land belongs to Volkner and Jasmine, it is technically private land. Most government enforced rules don't apply there. As long as what they are doing does not jeopardise the safety of anyone and anything, they can do whatever they want on it.

The peace and order in the reserve is maintained by the combined efforts of Volkner's and Jasmine's pokemon. To make sure that the ecosystem of the reserve can sustain itself, Volkner went out of his way to get pokemon from other regions who are known to help greenery bloom with their powers. Volkner managed to get his hands on a few florges and trevenants to help out in this endeavour.

The reserve is located at the very western end of Olivine City. Most of the pokemon that lived on the reserve chose not to venture out of it even when there was a lack of physical borders keeping them in. The reserve itself naturally provides enough food, water, and shelter with how it was designed and it doesn't even need to be actively maintained or monitored because the pokemon living in it are doing so naturally simply by living there. Again, most of it was monitored by Jarvis with Volkner checking in every now and then.

The only things marking the borders of the reserve are the signs Volkner had erected to warn any trespassers that they are approaching private land and they should turn back now if they came here without invitation and don't want to be turned into pokemon food.

And yes, you read that right. Turned into _pokemon food_. The _'turning into pokemon food' _part wasn't an exaggeration. That nearly happened when Simba caught a trespasser and nearly mauled him to death for trying to poach his young from him. From then on, no one ever approached the mysterious private land to the west of Olivine when news of the poacher nearly dying in there reached the locals. No one save a select few even knew that the land belonged to Volkner and Jasmine because the couple simply didn't draw attention to themselves.

To the Olivine locals, it just seemed like some rich mysterious tycoon suddenly appeared more than a year ago and bought a massive plot of land on the outskirts of Olivine to the west. A month later, a miniature nature reserve had somehow built itself there, teeming with wild pokemon. The only thing reminding the locals that the plot of land actually did belong to someone was the sparse distribution of signs erected around it. While Jasmine and Volkner called their creation _the reserve_, the locals refer to it as the West Forest due to the large number of huge lush trees planted there that made it look like a true forest.

Kayla still doesn't understand how the rest of Olivine is ignorant of the fact that _their Gym Leader_ is one of the two owners of the mysterious West Forest. It's not like Volkner and Jasmine are actively hiding that fact. Heck, it's like 99% of Olivine locals don't even know that Jasmine had already been married to Volkner for_ more than a year!_

**_HOW?!_**

Kayla followed Volkner back to his home, walking through the route that anyone who wants to visit him or Jasmine will have to take if they don't want to be attacked on sight by the pokemon who live here. Volkner's and Jasmine's home is a little cottage, but it is modelled after a two storey lighthouse that looked suspiciously familiar to the one that overlooks the sea around Olivine. Volkner and Jasmine now live in a lighthouse, quite literally.

The wild pokemon who made their homes here are naturally protective of Volkner and Jasmine since they are the ones who provided them a safe place to call home. This place is so safe that there is even a small group of stantlers, a rare species of pokemon on the verge of extinction, who had recently migrated and settled down here to escape from poachers.

As usual, Kayla and Volkner prepared dinner since Jasmine is busy with her Gym Leader duties. Kayla was even offered a room in their house, but she declined because she felt that Volkner had done enough for her ever since she worked under him as his gym trainer.

Besides, she really cannot stand how lovey-dovey Volkner and Jasmine acted in front of each other. Even after they got married more than a year ago they still act like newlyweds. Seeing them flirt with each other can not only give her a serious onset of diabetes, it can blind her eyes and make her entire body shrivel up when she cringed at their cheesy words.

For the sake of her sanity, it's better that she lived alone in her own cottage not far from the reserve. That doesn't stop the couple from insisting that she should come over for dinner everyday because she might as well be Volkner's sister at this point.

Volkner had no need to work after his retirement because he had amassed a lot of wealth, but he decided to take up teaching because pokemon is his passion even if he never battled anymore. He works as a part time teacher at the school and took on a few classes of first years because their school hours are shorter. He is in charge of teaching the first years in the subject of pokemon handling. Kayla herself works full time and she teaches the third years in the subject of pokemon battling.

Jasmine is still the Gym Leader of Olivine. Now that she and Volkner are living in the same city and had been married to each other for some time, they had been wanting to have a child of their own and start a family. However, none of their attempts had been successful thus far, so they decided to just let nature run its course.

She still finds it a pity that Volkner decided to not take part in pokemon battles anymore, but she understands. There's no more fun in pokemon battles if victory comes too easy to you.

Maybe this is for the better. Volkner is finally living the normal life he had been dreaming of for years. Sinnoh had asked too much from him and he had given too much. Things had been relatively peaceful in Sinnoh and Johto for the past year. Volkner deserves to rest and live the life he had always wanted to live, doing the things he loves and enjoys.

Furthermore, the Sun of Sunyshore might have set, but Kayla is confident that the Sun will rise again in the time of need.

The Sun always does.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Ex Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**18\. Alolan Golem, (Toss), male**

**19\. Electrode (Boomer), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Ampharos (Amphy), male **

**2\. Steelix (Steely), female **

**3\. Magnezone (Magny), genderless **

**4\. Skarmory (Skia), female **

**5\. Forretress (Forest), male **

**6\. Metagross (Mety), genderless **

**7\. Empoleon (Emy), male **

**8\. Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless **

**9\. Mawile (Molly), female **

**10\. Lucario (Lucy), female **

**11\. Excadrill (Drilly), male **

**12\. Ferrothorn (Thorny), male **

**13\. Klinklang (Clang), genderless **

**14\. Bastiodon (Bobby), male **

**15\. Aggron (Ronny), male**


	23. Chapter 23- Premonition

**Author's Note (Please Read)**

**The fair number of reviews that are concerned if TSoS is going to end soon got me a little confused initially, so I went to read through some of the latest reviews. Looking at the reviews for TSoS so far got me to realise that there is probably quite a number of you who do not have the habit of reading the ANs at the end of every chapter, because if you did read the ANs for chapter 11 to 13, you would have known that TSoS is far from ending. In fact, the story barely started. **

**So, I decided to post an AN at the top of the chapter just this once in order to grab your full and undivided attention.**

**Make no mistake, I'm very happy and touched that so many of you like reading TSoS. It warms my heart that my story can brighten someone's day, no matter how few, and the positive reviews are what keeps me going. That aside, for those who really do not know about it, I do have a total of an additional six other pokemon stories that I had written and you can easily find them on my profile page. And then you might ask, what's so special about them?**

**The answer is that the seven stories are all interconnected and taking place in the same universe. In fact, the stories are all going to have a major crossover soon. TSoS is merely a part of an even larger story that I had come up with. Each of the seven stories serves to tell the big story from the perspective of the mc of the particular story you choose to read. In the case of TSoS, you will be reading about the plot of the big story from Volkner's perspective and seeing his side of things. Whatever you had read till now is only an introduction to his past. What I'm embarking on is a crazy and ambitious project, but many of you have been supportive of the idea so far from what I can tell so I will try not to disappoint.**

**For those of you who only love to read TSoS and nothing else, do not worry that you will be forced to read any of the other six stories. TSoS will still be here as a separate story of its own and you can read it like any other story without needing to worry that you will miss out on something important simply because you did not read the other stories. I will also try my best to ensure that TSoS can remain as a standalone story on its own without needing to over rely on the other six and the same principle applies to those six stories too. However, TSoS only tells the story from _Volkner's_ _perspective_. If you are the type who really wants to know the full overarching plot of whatever is going to happen next, or curious to read the big story from the perspective of another mc, reading the other stories will then be necessary.**

**Again, I stress that TSoS will still be here and it is far from complete. There is no pressure to read the other six stories if you do not feel like it. Read the other six stories only if you are interested in knowing more about the insane pokemon world that I am building up in my mind. That is all I really want to say in this AN.**

**If you guys are really eager to know more about the pokemon universe I'm building up, you can find me on discord. I'm currently on a discord server that serves to connect writers and readers together from all kinds of online reading platforms and I'm usually online almost everyday. Chat with me, ask me questions, share your ideas with me and many other talented writers I had befriended there. I'm more than happy to chat with my readers whenever I'm free and answer any of your queries personally because you guys are what keeps me motivated in trying to keep improving myself as a writer. If you are interested, you can join the server using the link below:**

**discord . g g / V54pcwA (remove the spaces)**

**It seems that my naggy and long winded nature had reared its head again, so I will end the AN here. As usual, I hope you will enjoy this chapter.**

**After all, the Sun of Sunyshore is about to rise again.**

* * *

She is starting to have a very bad feeling.

The Lilycove Invasion that had taken place in Hoenn aside, there's also the attack on Johto National Park a few months prior conducted by Team Rocket. Those are incidents that nobody will ever forget for a long while. The images shown on TV shortly after the attacks had ended had left quite an impression on anyone who saw it.

The next big event that will be happening in Indigo is the upcoming National Day that will take place in a few weeks. While she is glad that National Day is a public holiday, which means that she now has time to spend with her husband, she hopes that it will not be an event targeted by terrorist groups. The reason why Johto National Park was targeted because it was holding the Bug Catching Contest, an event that drew in a large crowd and hence a prime target for terrorist activities.

Hopefully this year's National Day will proceed smoothly like the prior years.

She walked through the winding path of the reserve she built with her husband. Technically it is her husband and Jarvis doing most of the work, but she did help too! Steely helped flattened the land and dug the tunnels to lay the cables and wires!

Even without spotting them, she knows that many species of wild pokemon are watching her from wherever they may be hiding at. She felt that they are a little overprotective of her and Volkner, but that is probably the only way the wild pokemon know how to show their gratitude and affection for them.

The little two-storey lighthouse-looking cottage that they call home came into sight a few minutes later and a smile cannot help but creep up on her face. It took a long while, but they are finally able to build a home together. The many years of separation, waiting for each other, pining for the other's presence was worth it.

It has been a very blissful year for her, almost like a dream.

She pushed open the door to their home, easily spotting the food on the dining table. He had just finished preparing dinner, it seems. She walked through the corridor, looking at the various pictures that they had hung up on the walls or placed on top of the shelves, the pictures that captured their moments together since they first met more than a decade ago.

She is turning twenty-six this year, and she is still so madly in love with him like she did when she first met him at fifteen.

"Oh, you're back. Just in time too." Volkner appeared from the study, obviously marking his students' homework while waiting for her return. They exchanged a brief kiss with each other and she found herself mesmerised by his blue eyes once again.

"I'm home." She told him with a smile.

"Welcome back." He said with a grin. "Go and take a shower, I'll wait for you. Kayla's eating out with her friends today so it's just the two of us tonight. I'll go heat up the food in the meantime."

"I won't be long." She gave him another peck on the cheek before she headed to their bedroom for her shower.

It's another normal day for the both of them, but to them, normalcy is the thing that they treasured the most.

* * *

"Your students did that? Choose option A for every single multiple choice question?"

"I got one better." Her husband told her as they both lounged on the couch after they had finished dinner and washed the dishes, her head resting on his lap as he helped her comb her long hair. "Short answer section, Question 11 was _'Describe how certain steel type pokemon like magnemite, bronzor, and beldum achieve flight capabilities even without the flying typing'_. The answer one of my students gave? '_Because they can'_. This is literally zero effort, Jas. _Zero_."

She cannot help but laugh out loud at the funny things her husband encountered in his new line of work. Children really do the most unexpected things at times.

"Let me guess, that was Kenny? The problem child in your class?"

"Got it in one. Please help me beat some sense into him when he is old enough to challenge you to a gym battle."

"It's your job as his teacher to beat the sense into him _before _he challenges me to a gym battle."

"Ouch. Are you insinuating that your husband is not doing his job properly?"

"Am I?" She asked cheekily before giving a sigh. "At least teaching children is a fun job for you. Some of the challengers I met recently can be really rude."

"Children are cute. Why else do you think I decided to apply for a job at the school?" Volkner smirked before lying down beside her and put the comb aside. "And you know what? Why not let's continue to work on creating some cute kids of our own?"

"H-Here?" She sputtered and felt her face flushing once more. They had been wanting to start a family for a while now, but none of their attempts were successful so far. Still, can they at least do this in the bedroom?

"The bedroom." She insisted.

In response, Volkner simply pulled on a hidden lever at the side of the couch and the backrest fell. Oh right, this is a sofa bed. She found it odd why Volkner insisted on getting a sofa bed instead of a regular one when they were picking out the furniture for their new house. She only knew the real reason when they moved in together.

"It's only the two of us here." He whispered into her ear and she felt his hands roaming across her body. She tried to protest but it was a lost cause because he silenced her with a kiss. Before she could register what was going on, their limbs were already tangled with each other and they were about to start getting rid of each other's clothes when they heard an awkward cough.

"Ahem."

They both jumped up from the couch they were lying on and turned around, spotting an awkward Koga.

"K-Koga?!" Jasmine squeaked out as her hands instinctively made sure that she at least looked presentable and was decently clothed. Thankfully, she is. It would be so embarrassing otherwise to expose herself to her colleague.

"I apologise for intruding and ruining your… private moments. I had no idea that I would be stumbling upon this kind of situation when I entered." The aged shinobi spoke in a deep voice with his eyes closed, probably not wanting to see anything he didn't want to see and giving them some semblance of privacy. "But something urgent came up and I was tasked to make personal contact with every available member of the Thirteen Pillars as per Lance's orders. It's an urgent matter of extreme importance. I hope you understand."

"Couldn't you at least send a message _before _coming over?" Volkner grumbled.

"I'm afraid secrecy is of the utmost importance. It is why Lance wanted me to make a personal visit to each and every Gym Leader in Indigo except for Giovanni. We don't want to leave any records behind. It's supposed to be off the books."

"Giovanni?" Volkner's eyes turned sharp at the name. "Why is _he _the exception?"

"That, I don't know. Even if I do, you are not authorised to know." Koga said apologetically, eyes still closed, before turning back in Jasmine's direction. "Be at the Dragon's Den at Blackthorn within the hour. This meeting is kept off the record, secrecy is at Level 10."

"I understand." She replied. Whatever it is, if Lance had deemed this to be a Level 10 secret that she cannot tell anybody, even her husband, then it must be important. The fact that Lance had ordered Koga to make a personal visit already clued her in about the severity of the issue.

The Elite Four member disappeared through the window upon hearing her reply. Her husband sighed as he dragged a palm across his face.

"I hate it when he does that. He really knows how to ruin the perfect moment."

She giggled at her husband's words before giving him a light peck on his cheek.

"Sorry about that, duty calls. I'll make it up to you some other time."

Her husband's eyes gleamed at her words and she immediately regretted saying that.

"Does that mean that I can expect you to wear _that _the next time we-"

"We will talk about it next time, and I need to borrow Myst for a while." She hurriedly pushed her husband away to prevent him for teasing her further and scurried back into their room on the second floor. She quickly picked out a dress and changed out of her current attire. There's no way she is attending the meeting in her childish teddiursa pajamas dress.

"You know, we have an _hour_. We could-"

_"No."_ She sent him an annoyed glare as she changed into her dress with him watching her while leaning against the wall of the room.

"Come on, we wouldn't take long."

She continues to give him the look, daring him to continue. He wisely kept his mouth shut.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Her husband suddenly saying that made her look up at him in surprise. Upon seeing the look on her face, he continued speaking.

"Jas, surely you also find it suspicious that every Gym Leader is called _except _for Giovanni? This is not normal."

"I know." She admitted as she brushed away the stray strands of his hair away from his face tenderly. "I don't know how to explain it, but I feel as if chaotic times are about to come soon. Ever since the Lilycove Invasion things had not been the same across the world."

If only she can tell him about the prophecy, if only she can tell him how much of a mess both the Indigo and the world is behind closed doors. Sadly, Volkner lost the privilege to know about top secret PWL information the moment he resigned from his position as Sunyshore's Gym Leader. There are things that she cannot tell him without breaking the law, even if he is her husband. He understands because he was once a Gym Leader. There are things he knows about the Sinnoh League that he can never tell her as well. There will always be secrets between the two of them due to the nature of their work, they had made peace with that a long time ago.

They stayed in that position for a little longer, embracing each other. Her instincts are rarely wrong. The last time she felt such a bad feeling in her gut Sunyshore had experienced a siege. Sunyshore was lucky that Volkner and her were both there to stop the situation from spiralling out of control.

"Be careful." He told her in a soft voice, breaking the silence. She felt him gently putting a pokeball in her hand as well.

"Myst will teleport you to Blackthorn and back. If anything happens and you need help, either get out of there or get Myst to bring me there."

"It's just another meeting. I can take care of myself." She tried to reassure him.

"I don't care even if you are the strongest trainer in the world. I am allowed to be worried about you because I'm your husband."

She closed her eyes and smiled as she leaned onto him. This adorable dork.

"I will get going now." She reluctantly separated herself from him and with a mental command, Myst appeared in the room.

_'Master, Mistress, you called?'_

"She needs a lift to Blackthorn." Volkner smiled at the gallade. "Help me protect her, okay?"

Myst nodded in affirmation. Jasmine gave her husband one last smile before Myst teleported her to her destination.

That uneasy feeling in her gut only grew bigger.

* * *

She felt so _exhausted_.

The surprise sprung on all of them is no laughing matter. Lance has conclusive evidence from a mysterious informant that Giovanni is the true leader behind Team Rocket. That actually explains a lot, like how Team Rocket kept giving Indigo the slip.

Truth to be told, she is still reeling from the shock of the revelation. She had met and worked with Giovanni on more than one occasion. He is a nice and kind man, the role model for trainers and Gym Leaders alike. He was a previous Elite Four member of Indigo and currently the strongest Gym Leader of Kanto.

What Blaine told them was shocking as well. As it turns out, the politics and distrust behind Kanto and Johto ran deeper than she thought. As a trainer and Gym Leader, she is not deeply involved in politics because it is not her job to do so. The Indigo League might want to rethink this arrangement after this crisis is over.

There had always been a distinctive rich-poor divide between the two regions, with Johto consistently being the affluent one. There had always been accusations that Johto had profited at the expense of Kanto even when they are supposed to be one and the same, because they are united under the Indigo flag. According to Blaine, at one point about twenty years ago, the situation between Kanto and Johto got so bad that many important figures of Kanto came together to form a secret organisation called SKIP. Separation of Kanto from Indigo through Peace, that was the motto of the organisation. It doesn't matter if they are politicians, economists, trainers, or researchers. As long as they are a Kantonian and they are experts in their fields who wish for a peaceful separation, SKIP will welcome them with opened arms. Professor Samuel Oak, Agatha, Blaine, Fuji, Bill, were some notable figures who were actually a part of SKIP.

And then everything went wrong from there.

Technically, SKIP was an underground organisation working against the interests of Indigo. There was no way Indigo could tolerate the separation of Kanto from Indigo. Their existence was soon found out by the Indigo President, Kain Briggs. Under his orders, he ordered the total extermination of SKIP. In one night, the entire organisation was destroyed. There were members who escaped with their lives and their identities remained a secret, but SKIP officially disbanded after that day.

Giovanni was once a core member of SKIP. According to Blaine, Giovanni is a patriot fiercely loyal to Kanto and blames Johto for Kanto's constant state of poverty. If Giovanni is really the leader of Team Rocket, then it really isn't hard to make the rational leap of logic that he is trying to continue what SKIP had been doing behind the name of Team Rocket. This time, pushing for Kanto's separation through a more bloody path.

As if that was not enough, Blaine revealed that given Giovanni's personality, the Indigo League now has to prepare for the very real possibility that Giovanni had completed a top secret military project of SKIP, Project Rebirth. It is a military project that aimed to create a pokemon on par with a _legendary _pokemon using Mew's DNA. That was SKIP's last resort to protect Kanto before their untimely disbandment.

So not only they have to get ready to officially war against the largest terrorist organisation Indigo had ever known and had been plaguing their lands for more than two decades, they need to prepare for the possibility to fight an unknown pokemon that is at the very least, as strong as Johto's legendary beasts _combined_.

Everything is a mess.

The Indigo President who ordered SKIP's extermination, Kain Briggs, is still in power. None of the higher echelons of the Indigo League, including her, liked him. Not only because he once nearly succeeded in getting in the way of her marriage to Volkner, but he also has this annoying habit of poking his nose into things he has no business knowing or meddling with even when it is not in his authority and jurisdiction to do so. Everybody present in the meeting earlier had unanimously agreed to keep Kain in the dark about this because Lance's mysterious informant had dug up many of Kain's dirty secrets. None of them could bring themselves to trust their own President after that. For now, the Indigo League will have to do this alone because the Government can no longer be trusted to do the right thing, not with what they now know about Kain.

Currently, what they do know is that Team Rocket will be planning a large scale attack on National Day itself. If they really want to catch Giovanni in the act red-handed and defeat Team Rocket in one fell swoop, unfortunately, they can only wait until Team Rocket willingly shows themselves on the big day. Team Rocket is too good at hiding in places the Indigo cannot reach so sadly, a counter ambush is the only way left to exterminate them permanently. Lance's informant had given Lance a huge chunk of information regarding Team Rocket, which includes their known hideouts and bases, which the Indigo League will definitely be keeping a very careful eye on from now till the fight begins.

Even out of her many colleagues, not many know that she is now married and even fewer know the true identity of who her husband really is. She and Volkner simply do not want to draw any attention to themselves after how Kain had nearly prevented their marriage from taking place. The fewer people who know that she is now married to an ex Gym Leader from Sinnoh, the better. All they ever wanted was to lead a normal life. That is really all they ask for.

Lance is one of the few who knows about her marriage to Volkner because he is her direct superior. Koga is another. The last one who knows about Volkner is Whitney due to their friendship. Lance had also pulled her aside after the meeting was over. She remembered very clearly the topic of their conversation.

_"Jasmine, I will be frank. We will need all the firepower we can get. Do you think Volkner would-"_

_"No." She replied immediately. "Volk, he… He had been through enough when he was the Gym Leader of Sunyshore. I know it's selfish on my part, but I don't want him to go back to crime busting if I have a say in it."_

_She can still remember the days where he had wholly devoted himself to eradicating Team Galactic. She can still remember how tired he had been, how stressed he was due to the self-imposed deadline he had set for himself. She can still remember her heart aching at seeing him working himself to the bone and she would always worry if he would collapse out of exhaustion without warning one day. She remembered how helpless she felt back then because there is nothing she can do for him across the vast sea._

_He did all these just so that he could finally be free from his Gym Leader duties, so that he can finally be with her. She made a silent vow back then that she would make sure that he would never go back to that kind of lifestyle ever again if she could help it. He had done enough for her sake. This time, she will be the one to do something for him._

_When Volkner first settled down in Johto after they got married, she had discussed with him and made him agree that he is not to tangle himself with any affairs of the Indigo League, even if it is for her. What saddened her more is that she knew that he would help her as long as she asked, because he loves her._

_But she saw how getting himself tangled in politics had ruined his life. Even till now, she doesn't know how or why he accepted the position of Sunyshore Gym Leader, but she is starting to suspect that she might be part of the reason even if she has no proof._

_"This is the biggest crisis Indigo has ever faced. I won't ask this of you and Volkner if this weren't so serious." Lance spoke almost in a pleading tone, the desperation and stress clear on his face. "Trainers on his level of skill are hard to come by, and his experience in dealing with Team Galactic will definitely prove to be invaluable to us. This is **Giovanni **and **Team Rocket **we are talking about."_

_"We made a deal before Volk and I got married. The Indigo League is **not **to rope him into any of its affairs." _

_She stood her ground like an immovable wall. This is **Indigo's **problem. Getting Volkner, who was a core member of the Sinnoh League, so intimately involved in another region's affairs will definitely be frowned upon by the entire world if this goes public._

_And it will definitely go public given people's tendencies to gossip and Volkner's flashy style. He is not one to be subtle. Furthermore, doing a total wipeout of a criminal organisation like Team Rocket is not something that can be done in days or weeks. It will definitely take years. Even after two long years Volkner never managed to fully erase Team Galactic. Going by that logic, Indigo will be in a long battle against Team Rocket for years at the very least even if their plan for conducting a counter ambush is a huge success. Team Rocket is bigger, more cruel, and more dangerous than Team Galactic._

_She doesn't want her husband to go through that kind of ordeal again._

_She knows he doesn't care about what others think, but she cares for his sake. She doesn't like it when people talk about him behind their backs. She doesn't like it when people doubt his capabilities and talk about what he "could have done better" when he is the one who often got himself stuck doing things he doesn't like doing. Volkner had given up his time and youth for Sinnoh in order to protect these ungrateful morons and such criticisms are what he got in return? 'Most irresponsible Gym Leader in Sinnoh's history' for his 'sudden' resignation?_

_It made her mad just by reading about it. If ungrateful criticisms are all Volkner is going to get for doing his best in something he never asked to do, then she will not let him get involved in something against his wish ever again. _

_This time, she will be the iron wall that protects the sun._

_"Jasmine-"_

_"Say another word about this topic, and Giovanni would not be the only Gym Leader you would need to worry about." _

_She gave her ultimatum right there and then. While she does not boast the same firepower as many of her colleagues, she excels at playing the long game as the best Steel Specialist in Indigo. Even the Dragon Master would think twice before facing her head-on in a battle. If he decides to push his luck further she wouldn't hesitate to tender in her resignation right here just like how Volkner did in Sinnoh._

_To her, Volkner is more important than a stupid position._

_Lance stared at her in silence. For how long, she doesn't know, but she never averted her firm gaze away from his. _

_Lance was the first to break the tension when he sighed._

_"Fine."_

She feels bad for what she did to Lance even if she doesn't regret it. It is times like these that she wishes that being a Gym Leader only means facing against challengers that challenged her for her Mineral Badge.

It was past midnight by the time she reached back home and it would have been way longer if she didn't have Myst to teleport her back home. As always, Jarvis silently opened the door for her the moment she stood in front of it and closed it for her the moment she entered their home. She realised that the light in the living room is still turned on. Upon a second look, she found her husband snoozing away on the couch. He had obviously fallen asleep while waiting for her return.

She shook her head in fond exasperation. She had told him many times to just go ahead and sleep first in their bedroom instead of waiting for her if she returns home late thanks to work, but he never listened. To be fair, she would have done the same too if she was in his shoes, so she cannot really reprimand him for it.

"Volk?" She gently touched his face and called out his name. "It's me. Let's go back to our room to sleep, okay?"

"Huh? Oh, you're back." Volkner yawned as he blinked his bleary eyes. "How did it go?"

"The situation is much worse than I expected." She admitted. "Sorry, I-"

"Cannot tell me about it. It's fine, I understand." He reassured her as they both made their way up the stairs to their bedroom. "I can already make an educated guess though."

She sighed. He has never been too far off the mark when it comes to crime related affairs. It's like he has a sixth sense for it.

She changed out of her dress and snuggled with him on their bed naked as the day she was born, too tired to even put on her pajamas.

"What did you already know?"

"Somebody came to find me while you were away." He mumbled as they hugged each other. "Called themselves the International Police, a new organisation set up by the PWL to handle international crimes and some other affairs that I didn't bother to listen to. I am one of the candidates they want to recruit."

She never felt more annoyed. Not _again_.

"Obviously, I declined immediately. There were two people who were knocking on the door. One of them was Looker and his appearance is never good news so I got Hippie to send him out of here immediately. She seems very happy to do so."

She cannot help but laugh this time upon hearing what her husband told her.

Hippie is a hypno they raised on their reserve to help them move around Olivine quickly via Teleport if they need it. Hippie's expertise with Teleport is nowhere as good as Myst, but it is more than enough to travel to anywhere around Olivine and a little further than that when pushed. Hippie usually prefers to wander around the reserve than to stay indoors, but never fails to teleport to their side at a moment's notice when they call for her. Not only is Hippie a very impatient hypno, she is also very territorial when it comes to helping them protect and overlook the West Forest, and has a tendency to send any intruders out of the reserve with Teleport immediately. They often joked that she is the "gatekeeper" of the reserve and Hippie takes great pride in her self-appointed job as the gatekeeper.

Her good mood was ruined when Volkner told her another piece of news.

"I know about the prophecy. The International Police representative told me."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. Can today get any worse? She doesn't want him to get involved any further. He had given enough when he was a member of Sinnoh's Thirteen Pillars. They want him to give _more?_ Through the PWL this time?

"I still find it hard to believe though, that every single psychic of the PWL all predicted the end of the world. Their predictions had never been wrong thus far. I would be lying if I say that I'm not worried."

Her hug on him tightened. As a Gym Leader, she was let in on this confidential secret some time ago. She had also known of the recent setting up of the International Police. It's the PWL's response in an attempt to avert the prophecy before the foretelling of the end of the world becomes set in stone. It sounds unbelievable and totally outlandish, but it is equally foolish to ignore prophecies made by highly trained psychics. There were many crises that were averted throughout the five centuries since the PWL's founding because the psychics' prophecies predicted them even before it happened.

She knew there's a high chance Volkner would have to get involved due to his previous accomplishments. He's too bright to ignore. She just didn't expect it to be so soon.

"And did I tell you said representative is a thirteen year old girl? Only two years of experience in being a trainer at the most. I know she must be something special for the PWL to put her in the International Police, but I'm kind of worried she is ill-equipped. I mean, she had only officially been a trainer for _two _years."

"I had heard about her." Jasmine said softly as she closed her eyes and lay beside her husband, hugging him like a body pillow. "Velda Vera, if I remember correctly. Heiress of the Vera Farm. Made quite a stir in the PWL for her idea of setting up an international task force. It united the seven regions by giving them a common goal of stopping the prophecy instead of blindly pointing fingers due to unfounded fear. Smart move, but also a desperate one."

"Yeah, Vel, that's her name. I may not want to join her in becoming a superhero and deal with the bad guys like how I used to before, but I want to at least equip her with the right knowledge and skills before she goes off to do what I used to do. It's only right."

She let out a small smile on her face. That's Volkner for you, always caring about others. Children had always been a bit of a soft spot for him.

"I'm sure you will teach her well."

"Giovanni is a traitor to the League or something, right? At the very least, he is definitely not a friend with how you are excluding him from your meeting."

She sighed. Should have known he would have figured it out somehow.

"Uh huh. It's a lot worse than that. I… I'm starting to think that I should quit being a Gym Leader at this rate. I have no idea how you constantly live in such tense situations when you were purging Team Galactic."

"I'm with you no matter what choice you make, but I want you to be sure of your decision. I don't want you to have any regrets. This is a big decision to make, take some time to think about it. But considering what you just said… that means Team Rocket is involved this time, huh? Just as I thought."

Crap, she just spoke too much.

"You didn't hear anything."

"Too bad, I did. Dear me, what should I do? I just found out a super duper secret of the Indigo League that I'm not supposed to know. Is my beautiful wife going to arrest me?"

"Shh. Your beautiful wife did not hear anything. Just go to sleep."

"How can I when I just found out that my lovely wife is about to go against the largest terrorist group in the world?"

"Does it get any better?" She asked in an attempt to change the topic. "Like, does it get any easier when it comes to fighting crime?"

"It doesn't get better, you just get used to it." He told her truthfully.

She hummed an acknowledgement as she pressed herself as close to him as possible. She asked him another question.

"Should we just run away to another place and not return?"

"Desertion is a crime that automatically sentences you to capital punishment, my dear."

"But if nobody catches us, then there is no punishment."

"I see, how smart of you. As expected from my brilliant wife."

She giggled at the exaggerated tone he used, her hold on him tightening as a result.

"I don't want to ruin the mood, but you are suffocating me, Jas."

"I need to recharge." She mumbled with her eyes close, not loosening her grip on him. "You are my portable charger. Do your job."

She got an answer in the form of a loving kiss pressed on her forehead. She is sure he can see the silly grin on her face, but she doesn't care.

He really is her sun, brightening up every single day of her life no matter how bleak it can be sometimes.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Ex Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**18\. Alolan Golem, (Toss), male**

**19\. Electrode (Boomer), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2\. Steelix (Steely), female**

**3\. Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4\. Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5\. Forretress (Forest), male**

**6\. Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7\. Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8\. Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9\. Mawile (Molly), female**

**10\. Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11\. Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12\. Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13\. Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14\. Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**15\. Aggron (Ronny), male**


	24. Chapter 24- Sincere Plea

_" I do have another candidate in mind that is extremely suited for the task, but..."_

_"Let me guess, Volkner?"_

_"Yes, him. Unfortunately, I no longer hold any power over him and he no longer stays in Sinnoh. You had met him once before, Lance, you know how he is. If you need an expert on dealing with something as huge as this, Volkner is the person I will strongly recommend you need to have on your side."_

The conversation he had with his fellow Regional Champions and Looker through the secret web conference echoed within his mind. Of course he knows who Volkner Tide is and how invaluable he was to the Sinnoh League. The fact that a man like him married one of his Gym Leaders already meant that he _had _to know about him.

A Gym Leader marrying another Gym Leader, although extremely rare, is not unheard of throughout the world's history. However, such incidents only took place within a sole region itself. A Gym Leader from one region marrying a Gym Leader from a _different _region is definitely a first. The matrimonial union of Volkner and Jasmine brought up a lot of concerns and protests behind closed doors because of their respective statuses. Volkner has knowledge of many of Sinnoh's secrets and so does Jasmine when it comes to Indigo. There are concerns that the secrets of both regions will be leaked to each other through this unique marriage.

Surprisingly, the President of Sinnoh, Ashley Wells, personally vouched for Volkner and voiced her support for him and Jasmine. Cynthia did the same as well. That goes a long way to show just how trusted Volkner is among the ruling body of Sinnoh and considering his contributions to his homeland, it's not hard to see why. On the other hand, as Jasmine's direct superior, he trusts Jasmine. The Gym Leader of Olivine had never done anything that would let anyone else question her loyalty but people will still be concerned about the potential leak. The President of Indigo, Kain Briggs, was against such an arrangement and it took Ashley, Cynthia, and himself vouching for both Volkner and Jasmine for him to finally agree to their marriage.

Furthermore, it would not be wise to continue to prevent Volkner and Jasmine from becoming husband and wife. Their touching love story aside, not only did the usually gentle Jasmine look especially murderous when Kain kept getting in her way, Volkner himself is too powerful an individual to simply ignore. Volkner himself is someone that even every Regional Champion would not want to fight against as his enemy. He may not be a Champion, but his strength is one of the closest to being one. If he and Jasmine were to just up and leave in order to be together, nobody could stop them unless they mobilise a significant portion of their Pillars. Not only would that kind of battle bring about untold destruction, it would mean pitting comrade against comrade and a high possibility of losing a few Pillars in the process. That is the last thing anyone wants to see.

As Indigo Champion, Lance can understand Kain's concerns. As President and Champion, their first and foremost priority is the safety of their nation. While the marriage between two Gym Leaders from different regions may look good to the public and possibly promote international relations, the drawbacks are equally huge as well. Gym Leaders are still humans, they are still subjected to the influence of their emotions. What if Jasmine decided to follow Volkner back to Sinnoh and never come back? Indigo would lose a Pillar. What if she divulges all of Indigo's secrets to Sinnoh through Volkner? The consequences will be huge. Nobody wants to bear the consequences of the possibility of such a thing happening. Logically, the union between Volkner and Jasmine should not be allowed.

However, none of that sort happened. Volkner and Jasmine also do not like to draw attention to themselves and they don't want anyone, especially the public, to comment on their marriage. Even among the Indigo's Pillars only a scant few knew that she married Volkner. Jasmine's marriage to Volkner is a quiet and private affair and they had been living their lives peacefully at Olivine ever since. The agreement reached between Indigo, Sinnoh, and the couple was that Volkner will not be involved with Indigo's affairs and neither will Jasmine be involved with Sinnoh's.

However, Indigo is now facing a crisis of unprecedented danger. He really needs all the help he can get to guarantee the safety of Indigo. If even Cynthia herself said that he should at least try recruiting the ever disagreeable Volkner, then he really should try. Jasmine was fiercely adamant on not having Volkner involved with Indigo's affairs when he asked previously, but he has to try again regardless.

The situation Indigo is finding themselves in is just that dire.

Lance and his dragonite soon landed right at the front of Olivine's West Forest, the place where his Gym Leader and Sinnoh's previously strongest Gym Leader now reside. A hypno teleported itself in front of him the moment he took a single step inside, the swing of its pendulum gradually picking up speed, but a roar from his dragonite made the hypno flinch and stop in its actions immediately. Lance can spot the hint of fear in the hypno's eyes, it knows that it is no match for his dragonite.

The staring between the hypno and him continued for a short moment. The hypno ended the stare with a sneer on its face before teleporting away with a crackle of psychic energy, presumably disappearing to get reinforcements or to warn the residents of this West Forest that an intruder is here. Truthfully, he would have made a call before coming over to visit in order to avoid the misunderstanding entirely, but that would only give Volkner and Jasmine a heads up to disappear on him even before he could arrive. The only way he can meet them is to show up unannounced.

Lance quickly traversed upon the dirt path at a brisk pace, his dragonite walking alongside him. Many pokemon eyed him warily from where they are hiding themselves behind the trees and foliage and Lance has no doubts that all of them are wild pokemon that had made their home here ever since Volkner and Jasmine built this West Forest. He can also tell that these pokemon would have jumped him if it wasn't for his dragonite walking beside him. They know that they stand no chance against his dragonite.

That changed when a yellow streak of light descended from the skies and landed in front of him with a loud crash, kicking up a large cloud of dust and smoke in the process. A powerful electivire bellowed at him as it roared out its cry of challenge, something which his dragonite responded in kind. So this is the reinforcement that hypno had gone to find? Smart move.

"Dragonite, stand down."

Lance raised his arm horizontally in front of his dragonite in order to prevent the two pokemon from fighting against each other. He looked back towards the electivire and assessed it with a critical eye. No doubt this is Volkner's electivire, possibly the strongest electric type in Sinnoh until Volkner's retirement. It's too strong to not be one. This electivire is more than a match for his dragonite, that much he can tell.

"I am Lance, the Indigo Champion. I am here to find your trainer, Volkner."

Electivire narrowed its eyes at him, its body still buzzing with electricity. Lance saw how the electivire's gaze went up to a tree on its right and he tracked where the electivire was looking. Right on a thick tree branch of that tree is a gallade looking down at them from above, blades extended and eyes glowing in that blue psychic hue. Just a quick glance is enough to tell him that this gallade is definitely on the level of what you would expect from a pokemon trained by someone of the calibre of an Elite Four. It seems that the electivire is not alone.

The electivire grunted something at the gallade, who responded with a nod of its head after a few seconds of silence. The electivire turned back to look at him and dragonite, that same dangerous and distrustful gaze still in its eyes. After a few more seconds, it merely scoffed before turning around and walked on ahead, gesturing for him to follow.

Lance took a quick look back at the tree where the gallade was at, only to find that it had already disappeared. Probably teleported away while he wasn't looking. That is not really his concern right now. He has to follow the electivire because it is his guide to finding Volkner.

Lance and dragonite followed electivire down a twist of narrow and winding paths that strayed from the main one. Throughout the silent journey, he cannot help but be impressed at what Volkner and Jasmine had created in this plot of land. There are many wild pokemon that have taken refuge here, some of them are species that are close to extinction. The appearance of the stantler pack had surprised him when he spotted them because spotting those in the wild is extremely rare. It is also not hard to see that the wild pokemon are watching him warily. Even the wild pikachus here are staring at him with obvious hostility simply by him being here.

The electivire soon led him to a vast clearing within the West Forest, surrounded by tall and lush trees on all sides in a huge circle. This place is obviously a garden with how a flower field is blooming in full view here. He recognised most of these flowers to be gracidea flowers, a type of flower native to the Sinnoh region. There are many other plants and berry trees planted around as well. Lance can only wonder just how much effort Volkner and Jasmine had put into maintaining such a beautiful and large garden.

Following the electivire, he soon found the man he was searching for at a corner of the flower garden. A yellow haired man is squatting down with his back facing him, patiently replanting various flowers and plants in their proper spots. Around him are many electric types. Some of them are undoubtedly a part of his main team, like the huge luxray snoozing away by his side, the jolteon running around excitedly in the garden chasing after a butterfree, the vikavolt buzzing lazily as it floated around its trainer, the raichu mothering the younger pikachus and pichus around Volkner, and the heliolisk basking contently in the sun with its frill open. The rest of the electric types he could see around here are mainly pikachus, mareeps, and shinxs with the occasional elekids, probably the offspring of Volkner's pokemon.

Lance remained standing at where he is and waited for Volkner to react to his presence. There is no doubt that the strongest Electric Specialist of Sinnoh had known of his presence the moment he was here. If he chose to not respond to his presence, then he will wait until he is done with his gardening.

The only ones who reacted to his presence were the pokemon in the area. Volkner's pokemon had their attention drawn to him and his dragonite the moment they appeared with the electivire. The electric types only briefly gave him a disinterested yet wary look before going back to doing their own thing. The more cautious one is the luxray, who stared at his dragonite for a little longer from where it is lying on the ground, as if assessing the threat level of his companion.

Volkner continued with his gardening and Lance watched as the seemingly lazy looking man patiently trimmed the plants with a clipper. The electivire walked up to its trainer before squatting down and like Volkner, began to help in the gardening as well.

"What do you want?"

The silence was finally broken when Volkner asked that question with his back still facing him, his hands still busy in the process of gardening.

"I'm here on the behalf of the Indigo League to ask for your help."

"Pretty sure that the deal we struck was that I am not to be involved with any of your shenanigans and personally, I_ don't want_ to be involved in whatever shit you are about to dump on me." Volkner gave his reply as he carefully transplanted a few more flowers using a hand trowel. "If you are here for a friendly chat, by all means, make yourself comfortable. If it's anything else please see yourself out before Jas comes home. She will be hopping mad if she sees you here. I'm not going to see you off. As you can see, I'm kinda busy at the moment."

In a show of synergy and teamwork, the luxray yawned out loud right at that moment to accentuate Volkner's point before going back to snoozing away in the sun.

"Team Rocket is planning to launch a siege on the Johto region on National Day itself." Lance cut to the chase and quickly relayed to Volkner the severity of the issue. "The size of their numbers are unfathomably huge, way more than we expected it to be. There are numerous high ranking members among the Rockets who are on the level of a Gym Leader."

"Doesn't sound like a problem to me. Every notable criminal group has people like that." Volkner commented as he continued to shovel around with that hand trowel.

"Team Rocket is creating an artificial legendary pokemon through science. It is a clone of Mew."

"Johto has the Tower Duo and the three Legendary Beasts. Five against one sounds like pretty good odds to me. If all else fails, call your Legendary Birds from Kanto to come and help."

"That pokemon is created to defeat them."

"If that is the case there isn't a point to me helping out either. Either way we are simply cannon fodders in the face of the power of Legendary Pokemon."

"I'm not here to ask for your help to defeat a legendary pokemon, I'm here to ask for you to lend me your expertise and power to uproot Team Rocket once and for all." Lance clarified. "I understand your apprehension in being involved with Indigo's affairs, but I have already spoken to Cynthia about this. She's agreeable to this arrangement and I give you my word as Champion that you will face no repercussions for your assistance. After this is over you can go back to living the simple life with Jasmine."

"Since _when _did Cynthia hold authority over what **_I _**can and cannot do? Since _when _could _she **order **me _around?" Volkner scoffed in disdain as he finally turned around to face him. Instead of standing up, Volkner simply sat down on the ground where he was squatting at previously and slowly took off the soiled gardening gloves from his hands.

"Let's just be candid with each other, Lance." Volkner said in a mocking tone as he leaned and rested his body against his luxray who was lying beside him. "So, what's the catch? Another blackmail like what Sinnoh did to me? Or say that since Jas is involved in this mess because she is a Gym Leader, and because of that I am obliged to help as her husband? Or maybe try to guilt trip me by saying that if it wasn't for you Jas and I couldn't get married in the first place? Which is it?"

A raichu passed a bottle over to Volkner, which he took before drinking its contents in one big gulp to cool off from the heat. His thirst quenched, Volkner continued.

"Look. You know bloody well that the _only _reason why Indigo was forced to accept the fact that Jas and I _will _get married to each other was because _nobody _could stop us. Not you, not that idiot Kain, not Ashley and certainly not Cynthia. Jas and I are _Gym Leaders_, people who are even stronger than the top 1% of all trainers in the world. She is a _Steel Specialist_, a specialisation that is a rarity in itself. Of which, only three others in this world could possibly rival her in terms of her defensive capabilities. Steven, Wikstrom, and Byron, and none of them are from Indigo, meaning to say, to Indigo, she is _irreplaceable_."

Volkner pointed a lazy finger at himself as he continued with his speech.

"And then there's **_me_**, Sinnoh's strongest Gym Leader and Electric Specialist. Flint's equal and the best possible candidate to take over Cynthia's position as Sinnoh Champion should anything untoward happen to her. Your only hope of keeping me in check through the Sinnoh League was gone when they relinquished their hold over me. In Indigo, only the likes of you, Samuel Oak, or Agatha could possibly take me on and the latter two are old. They are no longer fit for duty, which means only you can take me down should I get hostile. The Indigo cannot afford to piss me off, the Indigo cannot afford to piss Jas off, and the Indigo sure as hell cannot afford to piss us _both _off by getting in the way of our marriage."

A predatory smirk appeared on Volkner's face right after he said that.

"Pissing me off is one thing. Strong as I may be, I cannot possibly fight against the full might of the Indigo. However, should it come to that, you will definitely lose a valuable Steel Specialist and Gym Leader because Jas will always be on my side. We don't need to even fight you guys. We can simply elope to wherever we want to and you guys will have no hope of seeing us ever again. For people of our strength there is nowhere that is too dangerous to travel. If we wanted to Jas and I could simply go to Orre and build an empire there for ourselves. We could easily conquer that war-torn place together. We could live like kings and queens for the rest of our lives instead of taking orders from you. We certainly do not need Indigo but the Indigo needs her. _That _is the _real _reason why you supported our marriage, because this is the best possible outcome for _you_. You keep your one and only irreplaceable Steel Specialist Gym Leader in exchange for agreeing to allow her to marry me. "

Volkner's stare turned cold and the electric types around him reacted accordingly by beginning to buzz angrily with sparks of electricity.

"So _don't _put up that noble act in front of me, _Champion_. Politics are the same everywhere. Don't act like a good man because you are _not_."

Lance remained silent, allowing Volkner to continue.

"People of our positions and power can never be a good person because of our jobs and responsibilities. Our hands are never clean. If you really need me to help you, either blackmail me with no way out like what Sinnoh did to me, or show me some genuine sincerity. Don't do half-and-half because it is not going to work on me, not with how you are _demanding _me to help you with a _shit _job nobody wants to undertake. Don't act like you are standing on a moral high ground in front of me, demanding for my help, you _failure _of a Champion. You obviously have a lack of things to blackmail me with to help you clean up your mess. You came here with zero sincerity while expecting to receive a wonder cure to solve all of your problems in return, so get out of here, _asshole_. Get out before**_ I make you_**."

To Lance's disbelief, the skies suddenly darkened within a second. _One second_, that is all it took for a Rain Dance to take effect and Lance didn't even manage to see just which of Volkner's pokemon did that Rain Dance. Storm clouds gathered, fierce winds began to howl around them as lightning streaked across the skies. Rain is starting to fall and thunder is booming.

Volkner and his pokemon had just summoned a massive thunderstorm that covered the entire area of the West Forest and quite possibly the whole of Olivine and beyond. All of it in just _one second._

No wonder the Sinnoh League relinquished their hold over Volkner. It's not that they want to, Volkner is simply too strong to be controlled. They cannot stop him if he really wants to leave.

"Volk. How many times have I told you to _not _whip up a storm in my city? Dispel it, now. You are going to incite a mass panic in Olivine and I don't want to deal with that."

Lance turned around upon hearing that familiar voice. Right behind him is Jasmine Terbium, the Gym Leader of Olivine. Her lucario and mawile stood beside her alongside the hypno and gallade he recognised from earlier. If he had to take a guess, the hypno or the gallade must have informed her of his arrival and she teleported in with them after that. How much had she heard about his conversation with Volkner?

"Jasmine." Lance greeted upon seeing the Gym Leader. Jasmine merely gave him a brief look before silently walking past him to reach Volkner. Volkner had immediately stood up when he spotted his wife, his previous threatening act gone entirely.

"Uh, I can explain." Volkner said with his hands raised in order to placate an angry Jasmine before comically turning to his electivire for help. "Franky! What are you waiting for?! Get rid of the clouds, quick!"

As soon as it came, the dark clouds dispersed as sunlight shone down on them once more, as if a massive thunderstorm hadn't just brewed above them a few seconds ago.

"You are back early today."

"Hippie and Myst came to find me so I reckoned something's up." Jasmine replied before turning back to Lance. "Didn't I tell you **_not _**to involve Volkner in whatever is going to happen? I _trusted _you, Lance, and you seeked Volk out behind my back after I told you my answer? Do you really want me to go through what I said that day?"

"You know very well that we need all the help we can get." Lance replied calmly. "You know how well suited Volkner is for the job."

"And you know what kind of reinforcements we will be getting. Volkner isn't needed." Jasmine rebutted. "Volk and I, we had to overcome many challenges to finally be together. Politics, criminal organisations, our regions. There will never be an end to the problems that we are dealing with. Instead of wasting your time here to ask for help, do something so that you will never need to rely on another for help. _You are the Indigo Champion. _It is also your fault that the situation escalated to what it is today. You and Professor Oak, the both of you are responsible for this mess. Clean it up yourself."

"Jas, have I ever told you how sexy you look when you get all fierce trying to protect me? Can you do that again?"

"Shut up, Volk. I'm having a serious conversation with Lance over here. You are ruining the atmosphere."

"My beautiful and gentle wife just scolded the_ Indigo Champion_ for my sake. I'm allowed to fanboy over her because of that."

"Don't think I forgot about that storm earlier, you are still going to get an earful from me later. Do you really want to drown me in paperwork? I don't care. You are sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Jas, I can explain-"

_"Explain what?"_

"... Nothing."

Lance can only watch as the husband and wife pair begin to bicker in front of him as if he is totally transparent. He mulled over his thoughts, still trying to find a way to have Volkner agree to help him, only to realise that the couple are right.

He really is a failure as Indigo Champion. The mess that resulted today is also his fault to bear.

"You are right, I should have come here with more sincerity when I came here to ask for your help." Lance admitted. "Regrettably, I have nothing to offer in return and I understand both of your distrust in me. After all, I have failed in my duty as Champion for not recognising and resolving this problem sooner."

Lance then did the one thing he never thought he would do in his entire life.

Lance went on his knees and lowered his head, resting his forehead on the ground. Such an act of submission is taboo for any Dragon Specialist, especially if done so right in front of his pokemon. Dragons are prideful creatures. They respect power and authority and they don't easily bow to another. His pokemon might lose respect for him for bowing so easily to another individual. However, now is not the time to be mindful of his pride as a Dragon Master. Pride is not going to help him save Indigo from the upcoming crisis his nation will face.

So, he will swallow his pride. For the sake of his nation and to help salvage the situation Indigo will face, he will swallow his pride as Indigo Champion and as a Dragon Master because he cannot protect Indigo alone. He needs allies. He needs his Pillars and then more. He needs Volkner and Jasmine to help him do what he cannot.

"I am here today not as the Indigo Champion, not as a Dragon master, and not as the heir to the Wataru Clan. Today, I am simply here as Lance. I am simply here as a citizen of Indigo asking the both of you to help him in ensuring Indigo will be able to tide through the coming crisis. I don't know how the fight will turn out but I do know that people will die no matter what I do. I don't know how many will die the moment our fight begins but I do know I need all the help I can get to reduce casualties to a minimum. I do know that I cannot do this alone because I cannot be everywhere and anywhere and I cannot possibly do everything. I am not an expert in combating terrorist organisations and certainly not skilled enough to take on Team Rocket on my lonesome. What I do know is that both of you can do what I cannot."

Taking a brief pause to recollect himself, Lance continued talking with his head still bowed.

"The mess that resulted is my fault, that I admit. I will take full responsibility for it once this is all over but until then, protecting Indigo and her people is something I must see done. That's what I had sworn to do when I took on the mantle of Champion. I can understand if you lose all respect for me because I have indeed failed the expectations placed on me and have gone back on a promise. I can understand if I came across as insincere in my plea for help because I was indeed not sincere enough when I came here demanding for your help in the capacity of Indigo Champion, thinking that my status as Champion alone was enough to convince you to lend me your aid. It was foolish of me."

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A second later, he opened his eyes again and continued to speak, every single word spoken coming directly from the bottom of his heart.

"I love Indigo. Flawed as she is, I love her with all my heart. All I want is the best for her and I want to be worthy enough to represent her, to be Indigo's Champion. All I want is to be able to be Indigo's protector and protect the people who live in the same lands as I do. Clearly, I have failed. Indigo would have been blindsided by the sudden eruption of war against Johto if I wasn't made aware of the incoming crisis through an unknown informant who I still do not know the identity of. That alone shows how ignorant I am regarding the dark side of Indigo, needing to rely on the help of an unknown third party to pick up my slack. Indigo had been sick for a long time, I knew that. I _should _have done something about it the moment I became Champion instead of turning a blind eye. What resulted from my inaction is the possibility that the people that I have sworn to protect might lose their lives, because I wasn't able to get to the root of the problem before it got blown up into what it is today."

Taking a gulp, Lance continued.

"I really love Indigo. If possible, I want to redeem myself by solving this problem without needing to involve anybody else because this mess is entirely my fault but fact is, I am not capable enough to do so. I need help. I admit that I'm desperate. I need allies that I can trust without question because one of our own already breached that trust. I need the Iron Wall of Olivine to protect the citizens of Indigo, I need the Sun of Sunyshore to help drive out the darkness within because the Indigo Champion is too inept to do it by himself. I know this is too much to ask from the both of you, especially Volkner, because I am asking you to give your all to help protect a nation that you hold no love for while receiving nothing in return. I understand that there is no benefit for you to agree to my selfish demands and there is nothing I can offer you that you don't already have. Yet, I am still here asking this from you, because I am at my wits' end and I really want to protect Indigo and her people with all my heart."

He made his final attempt to make a plea.

"_Please_, help me. Please help me protect Indigo because I really need the help from Olivine's Gym Leader and the previous Gym Leader of Sunyshore. I need both your expertise now, more than ever, because the lives of an entire region are at stake. I know this is a selfish move on my part, but I will still ask this from the both of you nonetheless because I really need all the help I can get."

There was a period of silence when he was done with his speech. There's a faint shuffling sound in front of him and Lance slowly looked up, only to see Volkner walking up to kneel down right in front of him as well. Volkner jabbed a thumb in the direction where his dragonite was watching silently the entire time.

"As a Dragon Master, you really shouldn't just bow to another person so easily, especially with your pokemon watching. If you are so submissive, how else are you going to command their respect? Great, now I have to return the gesture and kneel as well because if I don't do so, your entire team of lizards will probably not listen to you anymore. And if that happens, then Indigo will be short of a Champion and then people will accuse **_me _**for being the culprit why Indigo is suddenly lacking a Dragon Master."

Lance blinked his eyes, not knowing how to really respond. Volkner sighed and ran a hand through his messy yellow hair.

"You really left me with no choice, you know that? How could I say no after the Dragon Master and Champion of Indigo went down on his knees and prostrated himself in front of me to ask for my help?"

"You mean…"

"Your sincerity, I've seen it and felt it." Volkner replied. "Make no mistake, I will definitely loathe whatever you will be asking me to do and you can bet that ugly cape of yours that I will keep complaining about this shit job for the rest of my life, but I'm not heartless, Lance. More than anyone, I understand how heavy the burden of responsibility can be. Fine, you got yourself a temporary helper. However, I have a few conditions."

"If it's within my abilities, I will do my best to meet them."

Volkner held up his hand and began to count down the listed conditions using his fingers.

"Number one, whatever you want me to help you with, you give me free reign to do it. Everything I need to know to deal with this mess, I must have free and unrestricted access to it. No buts, ifs, or maybes. I don't care if all your Pillars object to this arrangement, I don't give a shit about them. Number two, like you said, any political repercussions that resulted from me publicly interfering with Indigo's affairs, you deal with them, not me. Number three, after my retirement I no longer have a Key Stone nor do I have Mega Stones but I need them if I have to face Team Rocket. Ampharosite and Gyaradosite, I need you to get these for me as well. I know these are rare, so if you really could not source one for me at a moment's notice a Galladite will have to make do as a replacement. I promise I will return them the moment I'm done. Number four, the moment I'm done helping you with this mess I'm out, no questions asked. Number five, everything that we just agreed to, I want it down black and white on paper, signed by _you _and legally enforced with Looker as the witness in the capacity as a PWL representative. The last thing I need is for you or Indigo to make me your personal slave."

"You have my word." Lance promised without hesitation. This outcome is already more than he can ask for and the demands that Volkner hashed out aren't unreasonable. If anything, the conditions proposed are for the sake of enabling him to work with greater freedom and to protect himself from any legal and political repercussions. He can understand Volkner's decision to do so considering his status as an ex-Gym Leader and is a Sinnohan.

"Then can we both get up on our feet and talk like normal people instead of kneeling? Don't your kneecaps hurt at all?" Volkner said in a lazy tone as he stood up and gave a loud yawn. Lance took the cue and got back up on his feet as well.

"When do we start?"

"Preferably immediately. Time is of the essence and there is much to plan for." Lance replied. "There is a ton of information we received about Team Rocket to sift through and analyse. It's a lot to digest."

"I assume that you received it from that mysterious informant that you were talking about earlier?"

"Yes."

"Send it over to me. I will start on it immediately." Volkner replied without delay. "Your manpower, staffing, the strength of your forces, those kinds of things, I will need access to them as well. I need to know everything on both sides to craft a concrete plan. If everything goes well I might be able to come up with a backbone of a plan by tomorrow morning."

"I will make sure you will have temporary unrestricted access to the League's database. I will get it done as soon as possible."

"Then that is all for now, I guess." Volkner shrugged as Jasmine walked up to stand beside Volkner, obviously still not pleased that her husband still got himself involved in Indigo's affairs in the end but accepted the situation as it is nevertheless. "So, are you staying for some tea?"

"I will have to decline the offer. I still have things that need my attention." Lance politely refused the offer sent his way as his dragonite made its way towards him, ready to take off at a moment's notice. Dragonite lowered itself down to allow him to climb on its back. Lance told Volkner one last thing before dragonite could take off.

"Whatever you need to know for now, Jasmine can fill you in. Getting the Key Stone and Mega Stones will take time, but I will get you the information you need within the hour."

"Got it. And Lance?"

"Yes?" Lance turned back to face Volkner. Does he have anything else that he needs?

"You may have failed in some areas, but you are still worthy to be Champion. At least, that is what I feel."

Dragonite took off into the sky even before he could formulate a response to Volkner's words. Even then, he cannot hide the small smile on his face even if he tried.

_He's still worthy._

He's still worthy to be Indigo's Champion.

* * *

**AN: Find and talk to me on a discord server created for writers and readers (Link below)**

**discord . g g / V54pcwA (remove the spaces)**

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Ex Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**18\. Alolan Golem, (Toss), male**

**19\. Electrode (Boomer), genderless**

**Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Ampharos (Amphy), male**

**2\. Steelix (Steely), female**

**3\. Magnezone (Magny), genderless**

**4\. Skarmory (Skia), female**

**5\. Forretress (Forest), male**

**6\. Metagross (Mety), genderless**

**7\. Empoleon (Emy), male**

**8\. Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless**

**9\. Mawile (Molly), female**

**10\. Lucario (Lucy), female**

**11\. Excadrill (Drilly), male**

**12\. Ferrothorn (Thorny), male**

**13\. Klinklang (Clang), genderless**

**14\. Bastiodon (Bobby), male**

**15\. Aggron (Ronny), male**

**Lance Wataru: Indigo Champion, Dragon Master, Heir to the Wataru Clan **

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Dragonite**

**2\. Dragonite**

**3\. Dragonite**

**4\. Kingdra**

**5\. Gyarados**

**6\. Aerodactyl**

**7\. Charizard**

**8\. Salamence**

**9\. Garchomp**

**10\. Altaria**

**11\. Flygon**

**12\. Haxorus**

**13\. Hydreigon**

**14\. Alolan Exeggutor**


	25. Chapter 25- Suspicions

"Volk, take a break."

"I can't." Jas can only watch helplessly as her husband continued to do what he had used to do when he was still a Gym Leader. "The big day is on June 16. Today's May 28- oh, it's past midnight already? May 29. We are running on a really tight schedule. I have to complete as much as I can."

"You really shouldn't have agreed." She sighed as she sat beside him on the sofa. The entire living room had been converted to his workspace. The walls which the sofa is facing now have numerous electronic screens mounting on it, each showing a different thing, be it diagrams, charts, graphs, individual profiles, and many other things that she doesn't understand.

"Yeah, I really shouldn't." Volkner replied with a dramatic sigh. "What possessed me to agree to let those stinky old men use my garage? What happened to our reserve being our own personal haven? I sincerely regret letting those old coots set up their lab in my precious garage of all things."

"That is what you are concerned about right now?"

She knows that he was complaining for the sake of complaining. He loves to give others the impression of what is in his own words, him being "a selfish asshole". She doesn't like it when he dons such a mask in front of others because she knows how big his heart can be, but being a "selfish asshole" is probably the only way he ever knew to protect himself from burning himself out because he is always giving more and more until he has nothing left in him to give.

She had seen him on the brink of burning out once. She really doesn't want to see her husband in that state ever again but it seems that as usual, she is helpless in stopping it. For some reason the world always needs the Sun of Sunyshore, like it cannot function without his presence even for a short while.

"No. Not really." Jasmine watched as her husband watched the numerous screens with a look of intense concentration. "I'm not worried about the Rockets. I'm more worried about the Government."

"The Government? Why?"

"Look." Volkner pointed to one of the numerous screens up on the wall. "I just found out something about Indigo that Jarvis told me the informant didn't dig up. We even checked through the whole lot of data _twice_."

Jasmine looked up to where her husband was pointing. A secret and highly confidential document was displayed on the screen. On the cover page were the big words 'PROJECT ILLUSION' on it.

"Project Illusion?"

"Call me paranoid, Jas, but I don't trust anyone other than you and Flint at this point. Don't you find it weird? How an 'informant' suddenly just appeared out of the blue from nowhere and so generously gave and warned Indigo what she needs right when she needs it the most? At a point where we all have _just enough _time to prepare. No more, no less? Such perfect timing means that this is _deliberate_. It _has _to be."

"And so…?" Jasmine let her words trailed off in uncertainty, not really getting what her husband is insinuating.

"Yes, on first glance, we should feel lucky that there is someone like that working for our side. But if that is the case, why doesn't he or she show themselves? There must be a reason. And think about it, this informant got so much dirt on not only Team Rocket, but also on **_Kain_**. Who is Kain again? He is the _Indigo President_. We all know that old coot is paranoid as hell, even more so than me, so_ how on the bloody earth_ did this informant guy do what we cannot?"

"But, it's obvious that whoever this informant is, it must be an undercover agent." Jasmine rationalised. "They are spies. They are good at what they do, right? Is it so farfetched to think that what he did was impossible?"

Volkner shook his head.

"It doesn't work that way, Jas. I had worked with many undercover agents back then. It's not as easy as it sounds, especially when trying to get your hands on quality information like these. It will definitely take years, at least. What Lance received is definitely more than a decade worth of information. Lance brushed it off aside and chalked it up as a stroke of good luck, that we have a good samaritan working for our side, but I don't believe in coincidences."

Volkner then turned to face her.

"Didn't you hear what Lance said? The information appeared on his table_ batch by batch_ delivered _personally _via hard drive, the _old school _way, meaning to say, there's no way to track where it comes from because it's not sent through the internet. The informant purposely chose not to send the information through the internet because he doesn't want to be tracked down no matter how slim the chances are. And then somehow even _Lance _could never catch this guy in the act even when he stationed himself in the office 24/7. How on earth is that possible? Why does this informant not want us to know his or her identity? That guy or guys friggin infiltrated the Indigo HQ _every single day_ for almost an entire week just to deliver hard drives and place it on Lance's table."

"How hard is it to infiltrate a place like HQ?"

"I can't say for sure about Indigo's, but I had infiltrated Sinnoh HQ before when I was pissed with Ashley and wanted a private face-to-face talk. Trust me, _it wasn't easy._ If I did not have priority clearance and access as a Gym Leader I wouldn't have made it to her office undetected and I was a _Gym Leader_. So _who _is this informant? How did this person infiltrate the Indigo HQ without any form of clearance _undetected_ and leave _no trace behind? _Information is a crucial key to winning any battles. Indigo cannot afford to be blindsided again. No matter how I think about it there must be an explanation behind the impossibility of whatever we see here. There is a third party at play here and we _need to know_ who this third party is."

Jasmine frowned as she tried to think deeper. Her husband did bring up a valid point. Who is this informant? Why is there another third party and if so, what are their goals?

"It's not exactly a matter of trust anymore, Jas. Indigo is lacking in many areas, that is for certain. I cannot rely on what they already know and give me because it will be very myopic of us to do so. We need the full picture if we are to plan a counterattack. Jarvis and I, we both checked the entire dump of information and we broadly classified it into two categories based on what we found. Kain, and Team Rocket. Guess which group has more dirt?"

"I would say Team Rocket, but going by your tone, it's Kain."

"Exactly. _Kain_." Volkner let out a frustrated grunt as he ran a hand through his hair. "Funny, right? The informant came to warn us of_ Team Rocket's_ plans yet there is more information on _Kain _than Team Rocket? Not like the information he had on Team Rocket is little, it's honestly a lot more than what I had discovered about Team Galactic in that two years in Sinnoh, but why is it that the information that informant has on Kain is way more than what he has on Team Rocket by such a considerable margin? That made me believe in one thing, that this informant _has _to be working for Kain. Only then would anyone have access to so much confidential information about that senile old fart."

"What?"

"Our mystery guy _has _to be working for Kain. It's the only thing that made sense no matter how I thought about it." Volkner insisted. "It will explain _everything_. How he so easily infiltrated Indigo HQ in the first place, why he absolutely doesn't want his identity to be exposed because he fears of being silenced by Kain, why he had so much more dirt on Kain than on Team Rocket, because he _works for Kain_ and he **_knows _**just how _much _dirt that old fart had accumulated. I believe that Kain has a very capable underground agent working for him that has successfully infiltrated _Team Rocket_ of all places and this guy is Lance's informant. This informant is double crossing Kain and Team Rocket by ratting them both to Lance. Either that, or making use of all this dirt he dug up to start a three-way war between the Rockets, Government, and the League for his own gains. I really hope we are not looking at the second scenario here."

Jasmine opened her mouth to retort, only to find that she could not think of anything to argue against her husband's logic. It _does _make sense.

"If that's true, then why is he doing this?"

"I have no idea." Volkner frowned before pointing back to the screen which displayed the highly confidential document of Project Illusion. "So, I decided to do my own digging since the League is obviously so incapable. This is what I found."

"Volk." Jasmine had to make a conscious effort to not strangle her husband when she realised just what her husband had just done. "You cannot just order Jarvis to **_hack _**into Indigo-"

"I already did that." Volkner waved it off. "And I'm glad I did. Do you want to see what I saw? Jarvis, minimise all windows except for the one on Project Illusion. Put everything about it on the screens."

On command, the numerous files and windows on screen rearranged themselves, allowing the couple to really see what Project Illusion is about. Jasmine quickly read the files and her eyes widened in growing realisation upon understanding what it is about.

"T-This…"

"Horrible, isn't it?" Volkner commented quietly. "I couldn't believe my eyes too. 359 children, all abducted from their homes at a young age and brainwashed through Hypnosis to be Kain's perfect spies and soldiers. To create his own secret army of spies that obeys him and only him, that is what Project Illusion really is."

_"359 children."_ Jasmine had to forcibly calm herself as she digested the news. "359."

"And according to this file, 358 are already marked as dead. Which means, if this is to be believed, there is one more of them roaming about working for Kain. That's not all. You know the entire dump of files the informant had on Kain? It has _everything _that Jarvis can dig out about Kain from Indigo's database _except _for Project Illusion."

"Jarvis can do all of that _alone?_"

"Under normal circumstances, no, but Jarvis told me that somehow there was a recent breach in security in the database. It's a work only made possible because the hack was done from both inside and outside at the same time, meaning to say, someone from within had helped. Someone with high and almost absolute clearance in the Indigo HQ that somehow, even Jarvis cannot track or pinpoint, which means that the insider is very likely a close aide of Kain to even possess that kind of clearance level. That breach was what Jarvis exploited to get what I wanted him to get, or at least that was what Jarvis reported to me when all is said and done. That means someone or someones had hacked into the database even before we did, and very recently too. Project Illusion is not even the most classified or guarded file in there. The informant had dug out more damning and heavily guarded information about Kain by himself and yet _only _the information about Project Illusion was not given to Lance. That means that the informant very likely knows about the existence of Project Illusion, but for some reason doesn't want Lance to know about Project Illusion and like I said earlier, I _don't _believe in coincidences."

"You mean that this mysterious informant is part of Project Illusion." Jasmine clarified. "The only sole survivor of it."

"That's what I mean." Volkner shrugged. "Kain's agent is working against him somehow, even with Hypnosis in place to solidify his loyalty to that senile fart. Knowing that old coot, he probably did something that made the agent hold a grudge or sorts even in that brainwashed state. Just how fucked up Kain is for that to happen?"

Volkner then pressed a few buttons on his wireless keyboard to bring up several pages he had obviously marked as important.

"You know what's even more damning? Many of the 359 children are abducted from prominent families. It's like Kain is obsessed with the children's pedigree or something. Maybe he believes that if the child comes from capable parents they will be equally capable too. Let me show you an example."

The profile of one operative was singled out by Volkner and enlarged for her to see clearly.

**_Operative Number_**_: 2043_

**_Code Name_**_: Pikachu_

**_Known given birth name_**_: Jane Green Oak_

**_Place of abduction_**_: Azalea Town_

**_Date of abduction_**_: Year 509, February 22nd_

**_Method of abduction_**_: Taken from family after inciting a stampede of wild rhyhorns living in the area to run through the town. Operative's memory was subsequently modified. Operative family members believed operative to be dead since the body was never found._

**_Cause of death_**_: Killed in front of Rocket group as a show of warning after cover was blown. Death confirmed by partner, Operative 2046._

**_Age at the point of death_**_: 16_

**_Misc_**_: Operative was found to be in possession of a houndour and gastly at point of abduction, whose memories were also altered when they were also brought along during the abduction process. _

"Oak?!" Jasmine cannot help but exclaim the moment she read the name of Operative 2043.

"Surprised, huh? I was the same." Volkner said in a grim tone. "Jarvis helped me to check too by flipping through some very old news articles. Professor Oak did lose his son, daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter to a rhyhorn stampede at Azalea many years ago. Only his granddaughter's body wasn't found. His son and daughter-in-law's pokemon also happened to be a houndour and a gastly and they were never seen again. The details matched to a T. The Oaks are not the only family he abducted children from. You can see the rest for yourself. You should recognise some of these families."

"This guy-" Jasmine had to take deep breaths in order not to blow her top. It takes a lot for her to get mad and yet she is feeling mad right now. This is what their country's President is doing behind everybody's backs?

To make things worse, knowing Kain, she knows Project Illusion is definitely not the worst that he has done.

"Funnily enough, I only have 358 profiles here and all 358 are already pronounced dead." Volkner's musings brought her out of her thoughts. "One is missing, the one on Operative 2046, which so happens to be the designated partner of 2043, Professor Oak's granddaughter. It's like that page was taken out on purpose. Jarvis had tried to trace and reproduce the deleted page but he didn't succeed. The only thing he found out is that this page was deleted on the same day when the security breach happened."

"So who and why, right?" Jasmine asked. "If the informant really was the one that breached the security of Indigo's database without anyone finding out, and if he really is Kain's agent and is part of Project Illusion, then from the looks of things, this informant is this unknown Operative 2046. He also deleted the very page that documented his identity for some reason. He doesn't want anyone to find out who he really is."

"And there you have it, Detective Mrs Tide."

"Volk, please. This is serious. Now is not the time for jokes."

"We found our missing third party." Volkner continued. "But the problem is, _what _is the agenda of this third party in giving us this huge chunk of information? Is he really that noble in wanting us to stop Team Rocket from conquering Johto, or what? I doubt it's that simple, Jas. This 2046 is aiming for something as well. He has his own goal. That missing page on him might or might not be what we need to find out about his motivations. In any case, I've reached a dead end on this matter."

"But isn't Operative 2046 _brainwashed _by Kain via Hypnosis?"

"Maybe it wasn't as effective. Maybe the effect wore off. Maybe the effects can be fought back against through sheer will. Maybe he broke out of it. I don't know." Volkner admitted. "I really hope that this 2046 is not using us and Team Rocket to advance his own goals to plan something even more sinister. If not, we may be in bigger trouble."

"If the enemy of an enemy is a friend, then at least he's not on Kain's side nor on the Rocket's. That's something, right?"

"If this guy ends up becoming our enemy then he's _very dangerous_. This 2046 not only is one of Kain's best agents that breached Indigo HQ and sneaked into Lance's office _multiple _times, he or she also has decades worth of dirt on Kain and also on _Team Rocket_. Not just any type of information, Jas. It's the type that you can only get your hands on if you are a core member of their organisation. This 2046 has detailed information on some of Team Rocket's _Executives_. He has to have infiltrated very deep within the Rockets to get that kind of information. To be able to do that meant that this operative had probably participated in many of Team Rocket's operations as one of them, playing the part of a criminal for at least a decade from what I can see about Project Illusion. Officially, that 2046 has to be a Rocket, and probably a very good and dangerous one too to worm his way into their inner circle to get detailed information on some of the _Executives_."

"We need to tell Lance about this." Jasmine spoke up after digesting what her husband just told her. "Indigo cannot afford to be blindsided again."

"Plan to do that first thing tomorrow morning." Volkner agreed. "Alright, enough about that for now. "Looker had really gone and done it. He had really recruited the people he needed to create his little world-saving boyband. Why don't I show you who my fellow cute colleagues will be? I told Looker to bring them here tomorrow to have our very first meetup."

"Please behave yourself when working with them." Jasmine sighed, knowing how her husband has a tendency to rile people up just because he feels like it.

"No promises." Her husband replied with a cheeky grin as he brought up the corresponding files regarding the interpol that he will be working with for this period of time. "You know Looker, so I shan't introduce him. Hmmm, ah, why don't I start from the short stack? Remember Vel?"

"You are giving them nicknames already?"

"Why not? It helps with team bonding." Volkner shrugged. "Besides, seeing their reactions will be fun."

The picture of a young little girl was brought up on screen.

"Velda Vera. Thirteen years old. Heiress to Vera Farm. Runner up of the most recent Ever Grande Conference. Played a crucial role by making the counterattacks on Team Magma and Team Aqua possible on two separate occasions through accurately deducing the location of the bases of operations after the attack on Lilycove and also on the Battle Frontier. Thanks to that, Hoenn is a lot safer now. She's a Generalist and has eighteen different pokemon that is registered as hers."

_"Generalist? _And _eighteen_ pokemon? That's a lot. Can she manage them all properly?_"_

"I saw how she interacted with her team, she's doing more than fine in that department." Volkner reassured her. "Guess growing up in a pokemon farm had done wonders for her to learn how to properly manage and take care of a large group of pokemon even before she became a trainer. She's one of the few child geniuses that the Hoenn League is keeping an eye on, because she's one of the most likely candidates that might prove to have the potential to be the next Steven Stone."

"You seem to have a soft spot for her."

"Let's just say that we both found out that we are more alike than we cared to admit." Volkner answered after a few seconds of silence. "She also learnt how to use Magnet Rise without me teaching her to. Granted, Wattson coached her, but it's still impressive. You should meet her someday, Jas. I think you will like her a lot."

With a few taps of the keyboard, Volkner brought up the personal particulars of another individual.

"Shannon Juniper. Eighteen years old. Niece of Cedric Juniper and also a Pokemon Researcher. Her background is pretty much normal but her contributions are not. She's still young but yet she already made a groundbreaking discovery regarding Pokemon Evolution through the use of evolutionary stones. You really should read her research papers one day, Jas, you won't regret it."

"I will when I have the time." She said with a smile, filing away the names of Velda Vera and Shannon Juniper in her mind, knowing that whoever caught her husband's eye must be special.

"Then there's this person who I have no idea what to think about. Nova Labelle, same age as you at twenty six years old, niece of Lysandre. You know who Lysandre is, right?"

"The man who owns Lysandre Labs, creators of the holo caster. Who doesn't know him?"

"That one." Volkner mentioned while scratching his chin with a finger. "It says here that she is a historian who has a knack for finding out the truths behind myths and legends which honestly, doesn't sound like she can contribute much to the interpol at first, but on second thought…"

"If Legendaries and Mythicals are somehow involved in the prophecy, the interpol might need her skills to find the truth behind certain myths and folktales." Jasmine completed her husband's speculation.

"That's what I think too. She might really be who we need to learn more about the elusive Legendary Birds because if what I suspected is true, Team Rocket already knows their exact location and how to summon them here, just lacking the means to catch them all this while."

"That's… a little scary to think about. We already have an unknown Mewtwo to deal with."

"So we better hurry on our end." Volkner added. "Now, for the most interesting pair."

The profiles of two different individuals were brought up this time.

"Akamu and Marianne Kahale. A husband and wife pair but of course we are the better husband and wife pair. Both are ex PWL agents who used to work under Looker before resigning from their positions eight years ago. Akamu is a Faller. You know what they are?"

"You told me about them many years ago when we first met. Something about… wormholes?"

"Ultra Wormholes." Volkner gently corrected her before continuing to speak. "I never saw one during my journey to Alola back then, but my team and I did stumble across an Ultra Beast. Fun times."

"So, Faller?"

"People who were somehow absorbed into these Ultra Wormholes and then came out of it after who-knows-how-long. The thing is, whatever that happened to them in the wormholes makes them incapable of remembering about their past before they got sucked into the wormholes. Think of it as Ultra Wormhole causing the victims to suffer from amnesia. The mysterious thing is that because they had been into these wormholes, Fallers constantly emit a mysterious energy that attracts the bloodthirsty Ultra Beasts to them, and I had told you how powerful these things are. Unless you are on the level of a Gym Leader, there's no chance you can beat those things back alone."

"So he lives a life on the run, I take it?"

"Mostly." Volkner nodded his head. "There are ways to hide a Faller's presence, that's where his wife came in."

Volkner then gestured to the profile of Marianne Kahale.

"Akamu's wife, Marianne Kahale, although it is stated that many people simply call her Mary. She is an inventor and also the last member of the Kahale Tribe. She's a true genius in every sense of the word. Foldable Space Technology? She was the one who perfected it for commercial use."

"Wait." Jasmine sat upright upon hearing that. "If that's the case, why isn't she more well-known? This is the first time I'm hearing her name."

"She chose not to claim credit for it as far as I know. Said something about the purpose of inventions is for the betterment of mankind, not for individual glory." Volkner pointed to a section of Mary's profile with a finger. "Quite noble on her part. The world needs more people like her and less like me."

"Volk, you had given more than enough to Sinnoh and to the world. You cannot just keep giving and giving without stop like how you did in Sinnoh. Take a break."

"I know that I'm now a selfish asshole." Volkner shrugged in a nonchalant manner. "I'm not afraid to admit that, but the truth is, the world also needs more selfless people like Mary. We were talking about the shitty life Fallers have to lead, right? She invented something to help them, the Faller Cloaking Device. It's what help kept Akamu alive all these years."

"What's a Faller Cloaking Device?"

"As its name suggests, it hides Fallers from Ultra Beasts. The motivation behind her inventing something like that was to hide her husband using what I could tell from the information Looker gave me and ironically, it was what led to the couple tendering in their resignation."

Jasmine looked at her husband in curiosity, prompting him to continue.

"The one and only Faller Cloaking Device in the world is the only thing that is protecting and hiding Akamu from the Ultra Beasts. It was entrusted into the care of the Alola branch of the PWL but it had been suspected to be tampered with by an unknown party that the PWL failed to detect and catch even till today. What do you think happened after that?"

"That means the Ultra Beasts…" Jasmine's eyes widened in horror at the thought of such a thing happening.

"They found Akamu, who lives with Mary's tribe." Volkner affirmed with a serious nod. "A Guzzlord appeared in the middle of the night and killed almost everyone there. It's why Mary is the only Kahale left. Only three people survived. Her, Akamu, and their adoptive little brother. Things became a lot more… I wouldn't say interesting because this is a tragedy, but the development is kind of surprising. You know Team Skull?"

"I do." Jasmine nodded her head in confirmation.

"Their little brother ran away from home after that incident and eventually became the leader of Team Skull. Akamu was badly injured and frankly, I have no idea how he came out alive from facing a Guzzlord alone. Mary was pregnant at the time and she miscarried because of her injuries. Not only that, she could never conceive again. To make things worse, she was paralysed from the waist down for years until she was finally able to walk again only very recently, but her legs had never fully healed."

"It's horrible." Jasmine whispered in shock. "If that happened to me, I…"

"And it **_won't _**happen to you." Volkner told her with a hint of fierce protectiveness. "Right, let's not think about bad things and instead let's gossip about others. We were talking about Mary earlier, weren't we? You know who her father is?"

"No."

"Marcus Asier Vermont. Remember that old space project, Space Shuttle Columbia? He was one of the key members of it."

"Oh, that."

"And then he became a member of SKIP from what Lance told me he found out from Blaine and the others."

"I wasn't expecting that development." Jasmine replied. "Does Mary know? About her father's involvement with SKIP?"

"I doubt so, but we will see tomorrow." Volkner said before releasing a tired sigh. Spotting her husband's fatigue, Jasmine simply helped massage his shoulders to help him relax a little.

"Ahh… Jas, have I ever told you how glad I am to have such a beautiful, smart, understanding, and loving woman like you as my wife?"

"You just did." She said smugly. "Where's my reward?"

"You scored yourself a handsome, dashing, powerful, loving, and a masterchef of a husband. The one and only and also the best in the world. What other reward would you want?"

"That's it? No reward? I'm changing my mind then. Don't think I forgot about that stunt you did with Rain Dance earlier this afternoon. You have one minute to try and convince me why you shouldn't sleep on the couch tonight."

"I'm good in bed too?"

_"Volk."_ She warned, already knowing where this is heading to. "Focus on your work."

"You were the one who said to take a break."

"You were the one who said you are on a tight deadline." She retorted before standing up to head towards the kitchen. "I will make some tea for you. Don't overwork yourself too hard, you are not getting any younger."

"Excuse me, my beautiful wife, your handsome husband is still in his prime and as dashing as ever."

"Yes, yes, you are. Whatever you say."

"You know what, Jas? Why don't we really do it?"

"Do what?"

"Elope together, go to Orre, conquer the entire region with just the both of us and build ourselves an empire. I will be King and you will be Queen and our children will be princes and princesses. The national decree will be to slack around all day long. Sounds like a win-win situation to me."

"Desertion is a crime that automatically sentences you to capital punishment."

"But if nobody catches us, then there is no punishment. Wasn't that what you said the other night?"

"Learning to appreciate my wisdom now, aren't you?" She gave him a smug look while preparing tea using the gracidea flowers they planted in a garden within the West Forest. "See? Never doubt the words of your wife. She knows what's best."

"Aye, this humble subject is absolutely sorry for doing so. Forgive me, your majesty?"

"Yes, you are forgiven. Now go back and do your work. Since you've already agreed to help Lance, might as well finish it as soon as possible so that we can go back to our ordinary lives."

Volkner did an exaggerated bow that got her laughing out loud, lifting her spirits up again like how he always did for her.

"As you wish, milady."

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Ex Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**18\. Alolan Golem, (Toss), male**

**19\. Electrode (Boomer), genderless**


	26. Chapter 26- Preparing for Sunrise

"Knock knock. Your dashing food delivery rider has arrived with your lunch."

Jasmine cannot help but let out a laugh the moment she heard and saw her husband standing at her office door with Myst by his side. He entered her office and closed the door behind him before putting her lunchboxes on her table. Myst made himself comfortable as he crossed his legs and started to float using his psychic powers, eyes closed, and began to meditate.

"Everyone cooked a little of their region's delicacy. Some sort of icebreaking session to get to know each other better." Her husband told her when she looked at the assortment of foreign food in curiosity. "There's saimin cooked by Akamu, think about it as Alola style ramen. It's a little different from what you can find in Johto. Short stack cooked tempura. Red cooked onion soup which doesn't look like much, but the taste is another matter entirely. Then there's your favourite grill fish your dear husband cooked just for you."

"Must have been nice, wish I could be there." She said truthfully as she picked up her chopsticks. Why is she stuck in her office preparing defense plans for Olivine? Oh right, she is the city's Gym Leader and she has to protect it from Team Rocket's attack that will happen in about two weeks time, that's why.

"Have you eaten?"

"Uh huh." Volkner nodded from where he sat opposite her office desk. "Would have had lunch with you, but since I am the host I have to entertain the guests. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. At least we can have a taste of some of the food from other regions." She replied with a smile as she took a sip of the onion soup Nova had cooked. Her eyes widened in surprise the moment she tasted the simple looking soup and she quickly took another mouthful of it.

"Do you mind getting the recipe for this soup from Nova? It's nice."

"Already done." Volkner said with an exaggerated wag of his eyebrows. "I know you will love it the moment you taste it. We are not the only ones, even Professor Elm fell in love with this onion soup. I will see if I can replicate the same taste when I'm free."

"Aren't you the sweetest?" She said teasingly and held up her spoon right in front of his mouth filled with some of the soup. "Say ahhhh."

"Ahhhh." He indulged her as she fed him some of the soup. They both stared at each other, then laughed.

"Childish." She said in mock disapproval as she continued to eat the food bite by bite. The saimin is nice. Velda's tempura is cooked to perfection too. Who knew the interpol is made up of chefs?

"Still your perfect husband." Volkner replied with a carefree shrug and a teasing smirk. "How's it going on your end?"

"Doing my best." She admitted as her gaze temporarily travelled back to her computer screen. "It should be fine, especially with you helping, but I cannot help but be a little scared. Olivine never faced a crisis on this scale before."

"Everything will turn out alright." Volkner reassured her. "I'll make it such that you will have the best reinforcements possible stationed at Olivine on the big day, so don't worry your pretty head too much about it."

"How are the other members of the interpol?" She changed the topic of discussion, not wanting to talk about such a depressing topic like fighting Team Rocket. Her husband had obviously caught on to the unsaid message within her words as he answered her question.

"They are fine. I can see why Looker wanted them in the interpol." Volkner said with a thoughtful hum. "I will probably send Nova to help dig out more about Kanto's Legendaries after today's meeting is over. We all know that they are always flying around somewhere, but it is more reassuring to know their exact location or how to properly summon them instead of hoping for them to may or may not appear in our time of need."

"To fight against Mewtwo?"

"That's the worst case scenario." Her husband replied with a grim voice. "The informant did tell us that Mewtwo will not be our enemy, but I am a paranoid person. I will always have contingencies, been backstabbed too many times to count. Is Eusine around?"

"He's out for lunch break. Do you need him to help you find the Legendary Beasts?" She asked, knowing that her Assistant Gym Leader is a little obsessed about Johto's Legendary Beasts, more specifically, Suicune. It's because of this that Eusine is probably Indigo's foremost expert on Johto's Legendary Beasts.

Ever since Volkner got himself an Assistant Gym Leader in the form of Riley she had been thinking if she should do something similar. For one, it will reduce her workload. Secondly, she isn't sure if the job of a Gym Leader is something that she wants to continue doing. Sure, the job is rewarding, the pay is great and she enjoys certain fame, but she is not lacking in the money department and neither does she enjoy being in the spotlight. Hence, she finds that it is best to find a suitable replacement for her position should she ever decide to retire for good from her position as Olivine's Gym Leader.

Furthermore, she is finding herself really wanting to start a family soon, and being a Gym Leader somehow seems to get in the way of her dream. Very often, the hectic lifestyle of being Olivine's Gym Leader stresses her to no end and it places a certain amount of strain on her body, which might explain why she kept finding herself unable to conceive even a year after her marriage to Volkner.

It took her awhile, but she did find someone suitable for the job of Olivine's Assistant Gym Leader. Morty's good friend, Eusine, is a powerful and splendid trainer. He is a little on the eccentric side especially when it comes to anything related to Suicune, but that is a very minor issue in the larger scheme of things. Eusine had been working under her for about two years now. If she ever finds herself not being able to continue to do her job as Olivine's Gym Leader, it wouldn't take her long to properly hand everything over to Eusine before stepping down.

Now, however, is not the time to plan for her retirement. Right now, Olivine still needs her, the Iron Wall of Olivine.

"I want to introduce Nova and Eusine to each other." Her husband explained, bringing her out of her inner thoughts. "A historian who has a knack for investigating the truth behind myths and legends and a nut for the legendary beasts, imagine what they can possibly help Indigo unearth if we have them work together. If I assign Nova to investigate the Legendary Birds and if she makes any headway in that matter, it will be a great help to Indigo. Even if the Legendary Birds aren't here to help us if we can just confirm the fact that they are not in Team Rocket's hands that will already be a huge worry off our shoulders. As for Eusine, you know how he is when it comes to the Legendary Beasts. He will jump at the first chance he gets to investigate them. If anyone can make some headway in better securing the firepower of Indigo's legendaries on our side, it's them. Ho-oh and Lugia are more or less predictable in their actions, so it's fine. At least we all know that Lugia has to be somewhere within Whirl Islands, so that's something. I've already briefly run this arrangement through Lance before coming here. He's agreeable to it."

"I will tell Eusine about this and also give you his contact number later." She promised. "How long do you have before you have to head back?"

"Our guests are helping to wash the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. Jarvis will inform me when they are done." He replied before looking back at the food. "Food's getting cold, Jas. You really should start eating."

"Feed me?" She asked expectantly and watched with secret amusement when her husband purposely gave an exaggerated sigh and took the spoon and chopsticks from her hands.

"As you wish, my queen."

* * *

_'We are taking the scenic route today?'_

"Just want some time alone to think how to go about doing this." Franky listened patiently as Volkner said his thoughts out loud as they made a small detour and strolled through the more deserted parts of Olivine on their way back home. "Finding Vel was one thing. Now not only is there Vel, there's Nova, Akamu, and Shannon, and another two more that are probably lurking about somewhere in Indigo. And then there's this stupid stone tablet crap. Is that another prophecy? If so, does it link to the current one that has the world so afraid? I need some time to think about all these."

Oh yeah, that. Franky was there when Nova and Akamu appeared out of the blue to confront his trainer and the little human girl named Velda. He's not smart enough to understand what was really discussed during their discussion, but he did pick up that Nova, Akamu, and Shannon are like Volkner and Velda. They all possessed memories of a different life where a world like theirs was fiction. And then they said something like… this world is definitely not the anime verse? Whatever that is. That it is… not any kind of pokemon world that they are familiar with? How many worlds did Arceus create in the first place? And then each of them holds a specific title? Volkner's is_ Leader, Incarnate of Lightning?_ And one of the unknown holders of the title, the one called Shadow is supposedly the son of… what's his name? Whimsy? Kimchi? Oily? Whatever that person's name is.

Urgh, just thinking about it is making his head spin.

"You guys will need to go back to training soon. Like, serious training. None of that fun and game stuff that we usually do nowadays. We will need to get back in shape for what is to come."

Volkner's words got Franky out of his thoughts. Franky can tell that his trainer's words had caught Myst's interest as well.

_'I will make sure the guys get to it. It's been a long time since we are able to fight seriously.'_

"Just don't overdo it." Volkner replied to Myst with an amused huff. "And take time to help Toss and Boomer readjust to our old training regime. They are not as experienced as you guys, they will need your help."

_'Aye aye, Captain!'_ Franky replied in the most pirate-ish way he knows. His trainer did name him after a pirate, so there's a need for him to act the part. Now, is there an eyepatch that he can use? Those pirates he saw on those funny human TV shows always had eyepatches. Where can he get one?

_'Do you need us to help train the pokemon of that Velda youngling?'_ Franky inquired as he walked side by side with Volkner. Volkner hummed at the thought as they finally reached the entrance of the West Forest. Squeaky greeted them happily as she dropped herself down from where she was floating about in the air around the area, clamouring for Volkner's attention. Volkner returned her affection with the head pats she loves so much.

"That sounds like a great idea. She's pretty skilled considering that she only had two years of experience, but her pokemon will need a lot more work if they want to stand up against Team Rocket and be useful to the interpol. I will get her to tell her pokemon to work with you guys later."

_'Finally. Some fun.' _Squeaky commented with an excited squeak. _'I'm so going to get Scrat here, prank them from dawn to dusk.'_

"Please don't traumatise them." Volkner drawled with an amused smirk. "And where's Scrat?"

_'Practicing his flying skills somewhere. Last I heard he went to find Puddle and Glowy out on the sea.' _Franky informed before glancing to their left. _'Someone's here.'_

They turned around, spotting a big and muscled man with tanned skin walking up to them. A carbink floated by his side.

"Akamu."

"Volkner." The man returned the greeting before his eyes went to briefly assess Franky. Franky narrowed his eyes a little as he subtly nudged Squeaky and whispered to her.

_'See that carbink beside him? Looks strong. Think it will be up for a fight?'_

_'Dunno.' _Squeaky shrugged._ 'But man, do I miss the days Volkner will simply rile Cynthia up for the fun of it. Pity Volkner is not riling these new guys up like he used to do with Cynthia. Remember all the fun battles that we had because of that?'_

_'Ah, Cynthia and her garchomp. Fun times.'_ Franky grinned.

_'Fun times.' _Squeaky agreed with a grin comparable to Franky's.

"You here for a stroll too? I've been to the Lush Jungle before in my youth and while my West Forest isn't as big, you can still easily get lost." Volkner said in an easygoing manner as the two trainers started to walk back into the depths of the West Forest side by side.

"I'm looking for Shannon. Mary asked her to go back to your house to help her take something and bring it to your garage, but she took too long and Mary decided to just go to your house herself. Thing is, we never saw Shannon enter your house the whole time we were there and she still hasn't returned. She's definitely lost." Akamu replied as he and Volkner walked side by side with each other. Akamu's carbink floated beside them as it greeted them both.

_'So, nice to meet you guys? Heard from my trainer that we will be working with each other a lot.'_

_'Heya, name's Franky.'_ Franky greeted energetically. _'She's Squeaky. And he's- where's Myst?'_

_'Either off somewhere hiding himself doing who knows what, or being the responsible guy that he is and do whatever Volkner had him do. You know how Myst is.' _Squeaky reminded Franky before turning back to face carbink. _'Yo, sup? Name's Squeaky.'_

_'I'm carbink.' _The carbink replied with what Franky interpreted as a wave, as much as a floating rock can wave anyway. _'So, your trainer is an Electric Specialist?'_

_'Yeah. Yours?'_

_'Fairy.'_

_'Oh, cool.' _Squeaky said in excitement. _'Are you guys really from Alola?'_

_'Yup.'_

_'We've been there before. Exciting place. Fought an Ultra Beast once. Best fight of my life.' _Franky said while punching his fists together, the memories of their adventures there many years before resurfacing in his mind and how they met several members of their big family there.

_'They are **dangerous**.'_ Carbink emphasised. _'How is fighting Ultra Beasts fun?! Are you guys crazy?!'_

_'We sent it running.'_ Squeaky replied with a shrug. _'It really wasn't much because it was an electric type and Franky is the best counter to any electric types. Never saw the wire dude ever again. Pity Volkner couldn't catch it in a pokeball, the wire dude looks kind of fun.'_

_'Can't blame the wire dude. Scrat was practically snacking on his wires and that got to hurt a lot. Have you seen how sharp Scrat's front teeth are?'_

_'Oh yeah, that. Wait, weren't you the one trying to unravel its wires entirely to see just how long it was?'_

_'I did that? All I remembered was that the wire dude just ran away everytime we chased after it. We literally chased it around the entire island. I always thought it was running away from Scrat.'_

_'I'm very certain it was running away from you.'_

_'There's** no way** you guys sent a **xurkitree-'**_ The carbink exclaimed incredulously before stopping itself. _'Nevermind. I will just take your word for it.'_

_'What do you mean by taking our word for it? That guy's not even that strong. Just one punch and I sent it flying.'_

_'It's a **xurkitree**. An **Ultra Beast**.'_

_'They are honestly not that impressive.'_ Franky said with a scratch of his head, not being able to comprehend just why carbink looks so afraid of an Ultra Beast.

_'Franky's right. Those guys are just weird looking.' _Squeaky supplemented.

_'And produce a very tasty kind of electricity.'_ Franky commented while rubbing his belly with a hand._ 'Yum.'_

_'Ah, that too. Scrat's favourite food.'_

_'At least now we know that food is called xurkitree. Funny how we only know its name after so many moons.'_

Carbink stared at the two electric types as though they grew an extra head.

_'You guys are crazy.'_

The conversation between the three pokemon was interrupted when the conversation between their trainers continued.

"Shannon is _lost?_" Volkner said in partial disbelief. "The garage is not even that far from my home and all she had to do is to follow the dirt path back. Nevermind, I will just get my pokemon to find her and bring her back. It's time that they start training and get back in shape anyway."

_'So that means we will kick things off by running rounds.'_ Squeaky commented thoughtfully before pinching at her belly fat. '_Might as well. I'm obviously out of shape and had gotten a little rounder from the lack of battles.'_

_'You call that a little?'_ Franky asked skeptically.

_'Hey, don't comment on a lady's weight! It's bad manners to do so!'_

"Franky, Squeaky. You guys mind helping to find Shannon for us and bring her back to-"

"VOLKNER!"

Franky laughed out loud as someone else interrupted their conversation. The sight of a female human wearing the weird things called spectacles running up to them for dear life and panting for breath is too funny a sight for him not to laugh. A beheeyem ran alongside her as though they were running away from the scariest pokemon living here, which is well, him.

Franky cannot help but scratch his head once more. He's not _that _scary looking, right? The kids back at Sunyshore all loved him.

"Shannon? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I… I… was supposed to go back to your house to help take something for Mary." Shannon panted for air as she bent down and rested her hands on her knees. "And then I got lost and got chased by a hypno and then there was this scary trevenant and then-"

"Hey, calm down." Volkner patted Shannon on the back with a look of concern, trying to help ease her breathing. "Hypno? Must be Hippie. Don't worry, I will have a talk with her. You need our help to get back?"

"Yes please! This place is just too scary!" Shannon nodded furiously, still trying to catch her breath. Her beheeyem simply lay on the ground tiredly, not wanting to move at all.

_'Hey bro, you alright?'_ Franky poked the motionless beheeyem with a finger as he, Squeaky, and carbink all crowded around it.

_'No. That hypno is crazy.'_

_'Hippie has that effect on people.'_ Squeaky nodded while poking the beheeyem with the tip of her tail._ 'Need a zap? You know, to recharge? It works for me all the time- wait, does it work that way for psychic types?'_

_'Don't, or I'll kill you. Just let me lie here.'_

"Um, Volkner?" Franky glanced at Shannon when she asked Volkner a question. What is it now?

"Yeah?" Volkner asked in return as Shannon kept sneaking timid glances at him and Akamu.

"Nova just told me. I wasn't there when Nova went to talk to you guys, but is it true that you and Akamu…"

"Yes, it's true." Akamu replied in a gentle manner. "And so is Velda. She's like us too."

"O-Oh. I see." Shannon heaved a visible sigh of relief upon hearing that. "At least now we know for certain that it's not just me and Nova."

"There's still the Shadow and Flier guys. Or girls." Volkner said with a nonchalant shrug. "If we ever find them at all."

"I hope so…" Shannon mumbled before looking around. "Where are we now?"

"Oh right, you said that you needed a lift, right?" Volkner used his hand to gesture for Franky to come over. Franky immediately got the hint and walked over to Shannon and her beheeyem with a big smile on his face.

This will be fun. How long has it been since they messed around with other people?

"Franky."

_'Yes?'_ Franky answered with an innocent tilt of his head, hoping that it will fool Shannon and her beheeyem.

"Be a gentleman and send our guest here back home, okay? Show them what the Sunyshore Express is really like!"

_'Wait, what? What Sunyshore Express?_' As if catching onto the fact that something is not right, the beheeyem sat upright immediately upon hearing what Volkner said.

_'Aye aye, captain!' _Franky saluted with gusto and in one swift motion, picked both the beheeyem and Shannon up, slung them across his large shoulders and sped off in a yellow blur before they could react, the two of them yelling out loud the entire way.

"AIEEEEEE! WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHY AM I GETTING KIDNAPPED AGAIN A SECOND TIME TODAY?! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I'M STILL TOO YOUNG TO DIE! AAHHH! I'M SORRRRRRY! LET ME DOWN! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

_'Yohohoho!'_ Franky tried his best to give his version of a menacing laugh he often hears from those human TV shows about pirates. Kidnapping a human, now he's acting more and more like a true pirate! Yohohoho!

'_Fear me! Yohohohoho!'_

_'So where are we going?'_ Squeaky purposely asked as she caught up to him by flying using Magnet Rise.

_'Finding Scrat. He always has the best ideas. Yohohoho!'_

_'Isn't he with Puddle right now? He will just tell you to feed them to him. Nom nom nom.'_

_'Who's Scrat?! Who's Puddle?! What on earth is going on?! And let me and Shannon down you two! And why can't I teleport?! What did you do to me?!'_

_'I just used Taunt, of course you can't teleport. Had my fair share of dealing with you pesky teleporting psychics.' _Franky continued to laugh as evilly as he could. His trainer did agree to help send Shannon and her beheeyem back, but he never said _how_. All he said was to send them back through the Sunyshore Express and what is faster than them sending their guests back themselves using their super speed?

Technically, Shannon could have easily found her way back if she stuck to the main path but those two don't need to know that. Besides, if she can get lost when trying to find her way from the garage to Volkner's home, she probably would get lost trying to find her way back from her earlier location too. So the Sunyshore Express it is! Yohohoho!

_'Puddle is a big scary gyarados, like a reeeeeally giant one. The biggest you will ever see. Ever heard of Giant Pokemon? Ever seen a** Giant Gyarados?**'_ Squeaky explained with exaggerated motions of her paws, trying to scare the beheeyem even further.

_'Scrat is a small pachirisu, but he always has the nastiest ideas, and when you put Puddle and Scrat together…'_

In a perfect show of teamwork, Squeaky and Franky both made a motion of saluting the beheeyem and Shannon as if sending them off on their last journey.

_'Good luck, mate. It was nice knowing ya.'_

_'Put me and Shannon down! What did we even do wrong?!'_

_'You got lost trying to find your way from the garage to our trainer's house. How on earth is that even possible? The only way for you and your trainer to not get lost again is if we send you back ourselves through the Sunyshore Express!'_

_'It's either this or you walk the plank and end up in Puddle's tummy. Yohohohoho!' _Franky let out his evil laugh and zoomed past the huge trees of the West Forest in a blur, waving a hello to a confused Fluffy and Amphy while he was passing by.

"AIEEE! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I STILL WANT TO SEE THOSE STANTLERS! WAAHHHHH! SLOW DOWN! WE WILL CRASH INTO THOSE TREES- EEEEK!"

_'She sure has a very healthy pair of lungs.' _Jo commented as she ran alongside them. Wait, since when did Jo join them?

_'So, why did Myst suddenly tell us to start running rounds?'_ Bask asked on the other side, also running beside them and casted Shannon a look.

_'Are we feeding her to Simba or Puddle?'_

_'Nah, I wish. Just doing a delivery service._' Franky said with a shrug. _'Who do you think is louder, Boomer or her?'_

_'Definitely her. We **all **heard her. How else do you think we managed to find you?' _Vik buzzed as she flew overhead before asking another question.

_'How many rounds are we running?'_

_'Let's see… ten?'_

_'You say ten because you can only count up to ten, that must be it.'_

_'Make it twenty. Let's see if she can still continue to scream after twenty rounds.'_ Simba proposed. Huh, Vik is right. Everybody except for Myst, Puddle, Glowy, Jarvis, and Scrat had all managed to find them somehow. This human's lungs are very, very good.

_'LET'S HAVE A SCREAMING CONTEST, YEAH!'_

_'Boomer, inside voice.'_

_'I DON'T SEE THIS HUMAN USING IT! SO I SHAN'T!'_

_'Can we just drop this human somewhere else before continuing our run? My ears are hurting.' _Bask said as he covered his head using his front limbs while running with the team.

_'Say that to my face, I'm going deaf.'_ Franky scoffed as their trainer's home came into view. '_Alright, here we are. Our ears are saved.'_

Using a speed that humans cannot pick up with their eyes, Franky gently deposited Shannon and her beheeyem down at the doorstep before dashing off again, leaving them staring at their backs in silent confusion. The team simply sniggered together the moment they are all out of sight.

_'On a scale from one to ten, how confused do you think she is now?'_

_'A hundred.'_

_'How big is a hundred? One, two, three… hey I only have ten fingers. How do you count to a hundred?'_

_'You count your fingers on both hands ten times, Franky.'_

_'Seriously, Franky. How old are you already? And you are still unable to count to a hundred? Even Puddle can do it, and he doesn't have fingers!'_

_'Exactly. How you became the strongest among us with a brain that small still eludes me.'_

_'You ask me why I'm the strongest? I never needed to count to a hundred to destroy things with a single punch, that's why!'_

* * *

Jokes aside, the team knows when to be serious when it's time to be serious. After running their rounds Franky took charge of supervising everyone's training like Volkner had asked. Most of them are excited to be able to fight a serious battle again, but also on alert due to the circumstances in which they are preparing for. Myst had already helped to brief the team on the big picture at hand, which saves Franky from further explaining the situation.

_'So…'_ ISpy broke the silence as the team gathered around each other for their secret team meeting, something initiated by Franky in order to inform them about their trainer's latest decision. _'We are **really **going back to do what we used to do?'_

_'We are!'_ Jo spoke up excitedly while running around the team in circles. _'Time to shock the world! Woo!'_

_'Hard to believe Volkner will willingly go back to that kind of life.' _Tec grunted out. _'But whatever. If it's another war we have to fight in, then fight we shall.'_

_'That's right.' _Franky nodded in agreement. _'Volkner is busy as he is, that's why we have to take our own initiative to start our own training to prepare for what is to come. Get all the kinks out of our rusty bones and all that. Have to be in tip-top shape when we go into battle again.'_

_'Let's just hope he won't overwork himself as always.'_ Squeaky mentioned._ 'He has a habit to work for days on end without rest.'_

_'Who are you kidding? He's definitely doing that right now.' _North spoke up._ 'Since when did Volkner not overwork himself when some idiot calls him to help solve their problem?'_

_'That dragon trainer from back then looks powerful though. I want to fight that dragonite.' _Simba commented with a yawn._ 'Too bad Volkner and him didn't end up fighting each other. What a shame.'_

_'Myst, Prime, and Jarvis will keep an eye on Volkner, and then there's Jasmine. He will be fine.'_ Glowy reassured the team from where they are at the very edge of the West Forest facing the sea. Puddle rested his large head on the shore, the rest of his body still submerged in seawater. Unlike the others who live in the West Forest, he spent most of his time swimming about the sea surrounding Olivine together with Glowy.

_'Alright, enough chit-chat.'_ Franky barked out in his no-nonsense tone, a far cry from his usually goofy self._ 'We need to go back to training with the same intensity that we used to do before. Especially you two, Toss, Boomer. You guys will need to work extra hard to make up for the lack of experience. This is not like the spars that you guys are used to doing with us.'_

Everyone's attention went to the two additions to their big family, an alolan golem nicknamed Toss, and an electrode nicknamed Boomer. Volkner had gotten them not long after they settled down here in Olivine. While they are not weak by any means, like Franky said, they do not have as much experience as the rest of the team in regards to what they used to do.

_'We will try our best.'_ Toss replied.

_'YEAH, LET'S MAKE THEM GO **BOOM!** YEAH!'_ Boomer yelled out loud in that obnoxious voice of his, hurting everyone's ears as a result.

_'Boomer. Inside voice.' _Whirr grumbled, his opinion backed up by Vik with an irritated buzz.

_'OOPS. SORRY!'_

_'You know what? Forget it. You are hopeless.'_

_'Shall we start?' _Bask piped up from where he was sitting on Tec's head. _'More work, less talk?'_

Without further delay, the team spread out to go back to doing what they hadn't been doing seriously for the past year. There is no trick or shortcut to becoming stronger. They all got here to where they are today due to practice and hard work, something which Volkner cultivated in them by instilling in them a strong sense of discipline. Right now is the time to let this sense of discipline take over. Volkner had always been overtaxed, they don't want him to worry about them too.

So, they will not let him worry about them. They will get stronger on their own accord, doing the things that he had taught and trained them in.

If the world needs the Sun of Sunyshore to rise again, they can be damn sure that they will be right behind the sun that smites all the world's evil.

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Ex Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**18\. Alolan Golem, (Toss), male**

**19\. Electrode (Boomer), genderless**


	27. Chapter 27- Briefing

"Jasmine! Long time no see! How's it going?"

"Hello, Flint." Jasmine greeted with a smile. "Glad to see that you are doing well."

The two of them continued to walk further into the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn, the location of the secret meeting between the Pillars of Indigo and the other representatives, excluding Giovanni. They are both a little early this evening but that is fine. It will give them some time to catch up with each other about what is going on in their lives.

"Where's Volk?"

"He reached here a lot earlier than we did." Jasmine informed. "Saying something about needing to discuss with Lance first before this meeting was held. He will most likely brief us about the final plan he and Lance agreed on later during the meeting."

"Hn, the lazyass, leading a meeting among _Indigo's _Pillars." Flint cannot help but snicker at the thought. "Back in the days he would loathe even participating in any Pillar meeting and here he is, leading a meeting of an international scale."

"Funny how fate works sometimes." Jasmine agreed with an amused smile. They both walked into the inner chambers of the Dragon's Den, a place with absolute secrecy due to the protection of the Wataru Clan. Right here, they would not need to worry about having their meeting being listened in or Giovanni's men finding out that they were actually meeting in secret.

It seems that they weren't the earliest. There are already people in the meeting room.

"Hello. It's nice to see you."

"Good evening, Erika." Jasmine returned the greeting as Flint waved an enthusiastic hello back at the Celadon Gym Leader.

"Name's Flint! Nice to meetcha!"

"Guess we are the earlybirds, eh?" Morty said as he nudged Falkner with his elbow. "Get it? Early_birds_? Haha!"

"Lame." Falkner replied with a snort, but Morty only laughed even louder.

"Am I the first foreign representative to be here? I would have thought Luc would be earlier than me cos, you know, Psychic Specialist." Flint commented as he looked around the meeting room. Nope. His fellow colleague is not present.

"From past experience, Psychic Specialists tend to arrive right on the dot. Teleport is too useful a move to not exploit."

That unfamiliar voice got everyone to look towards the entrance of the room, only for them to not see anybody through the opened door.

"Huh? Who's there?"

A lanky man wearing a black formal suit walked into the room in the next instance, his back a little hunched and his hands in his pockets. A liepard accompanied him as its gaze swept across the room, as if assessing if there are any threats present.

Another voice called up from beyond the opened door. This time, the voice belongs to a female.

"Hey Grimsley! Wait up! It's too dark in here and I cannot see a thing!"

"Get one of your pokemon to light the way up for you." Grimsley replied in mild irritation. Soon, a yellow-haired woman stumbled into the meeting room with a pair of emolgas that are hitching a ride on her shoulders.

"This is why nobody likes you, Grimsley! Will it kill you to be a little more helpful?!" Elesa, the Gym Leader of Nimbasa, exclaimed comically while pointing an accusing finger at the Unova Dark Specialist, who merely snorted and took a seat at the corner of the room, far away from the front.

"Jeez, now my hair is all ruined." Elesa lamented as her fingers combed through her hair. She soon spotted the people already present in the room and greeted them cheerily.

"Hello! I'm pretty sure we already know each other by name, but I'm Elesa! It's nice to see you! And please ignore Grimsley! He's too mean! And oh, this is Mimi and Nana! Say hi!"

The two emolgas squeaked a greeting at the Pillars present, who returned the greeting with their own.

"Your hair is really smooth and nice." Erika pointed out in curiosity. "Which brand of shampoo and conditioner did you use?"

Elesa's eyes visibly brightened up.

"Oh, it's pretty simple to take care of your hair! You just have to-"

Naturally, the men in the room tuned out the conversation as the ladies present began to have an engaging conversation about hair care products. People started to trickle in one after the other and the Indigo Pillars soon caught a glimpse on which Pillars from the foreign regions are here to assist them.

Drake and Steven from Hoenn. Flint and Lucian from Sinnoh. Grimsley and Elesa from Unova. Siebold and Valarie from Kalos. Alola's representative is Samson Oak, who is not a battler, so he isn't here for this meeting where the agenda is to discuss the battle plans against Team Rocket. There are also other notable figures present, like the previous Elite Four members Lorelei and Agatha. The previous Indigo Champion, Professor Samuel Oak, is here as well. Alongside him is a renowned PWL agent, Agent Looker.

The room went silent when the current Indigo Champion made his appearance. With him is a person that they all recognised, Volkner of Sunyshore. Jasmine's lips curled up slightly into a small smile upon spotting her husband. Unlike most of the people present who are surprised at Volkner's appearance, she knows the reason for him being here.

Their gaze met for a short second, and they both exchanged brief smiles before their attention was brought back to the Indigo Champion once again.

"Thank you all for being here on time. To our foreign dignitaries, thank you for lending us your aid in this period of troubling times." Lance bowed his head down in respect at the last part before straightening his back once more.

"While I would love to meet with everyone here under better circumstances, unfortunately, we were brought together this time to remove a blight that will jeopardise the safety of the world if no further actions are taken. I shall not waste anymore time."

Lance gestured towards Volkner, who walked up a step upon the cue.

"As you would have already recognised, this is Volkner of Sunyshore, one of the foremost international experts in combating crimes. He will be here to aid us in this time of need as well."

"I won't say I am the _foremost _expert, but well, yeah, good evening to all of you." Jasmine had to hold in a giggle upon her husband's awkward introduction. Volkner walked up to the front as the screen behind him began to project certain images, no doubt with the help from Jarvis.

"The agenda for this meeting is simple. Lance and I will run you guys through what we know about Team Rocket, our plans for them, and how we are going to allocate our manpower. If you guys have any disagreements or have anything to clarify, please do so. We will start by running you guys through the notable Rockets that we know of and what to look out for if you guys face them in battle, followed by-"

Jasmine let out a small smile as she watched her husband hard at work, getting the meeting going in the most efficient manner possible, the typical Volkner way.

If it's him, then they can do this.

* * *

"-move on to the Executives. First up, Executive Ariana, real name Alice Riana. Giovanni's wife and de facto leader of Team Rocket in his absence. We don't have any updated information about her capabilities as a trainer and the type of pokemon she uses. However, it is noted that she is very likely a Rock Specialist, so whoever is facing her will need to expect anything to happen. She was a member of the Space Shuttle Columbia Project and now she's in charge of the R&D department of Team Rocket, including the Mewtwo Project."

The screen flickered to the portrait of another figure on the screen.

"Next big shot in Team Rocket, Executive Archer. Real name Arawn Jaecar, believed to be dead the entire time until his existence was recently proven to be real. His father, Elias Jaecar, used to be Giovanni's most trusted friend and a core member of SKIP until the extermination led by our dear President Briggs. We can safely assume that Archer's in this for revenge or to continue his father's legacy, maybe both."

Volkner used a laser pointer to direct everyone's attention to certain details on the screen.

"Archer is in charge of Team Rocket's finances and expansion plans as far as we know. He is noted by our informant to be the strongest Executive in terms of raw power, and also Giovanni's and Arianna's right hand man and most trusted Executive. His nickname in certain circles is the 'Relentless Hunter' due to his ability to always hunt down his targets. A Dragon Specialist that is very possibly on the Elite Four level, that is all our mysterious informant could find out about Archer. What we do know from our informant, however, is that Archer will be leading the siege on Olivine that day. This means that we can prepare for him."

The screen flickered to display the image of another Executive of Team Rocket.

"Another troublesome fellow, this guy. Some of you may know or heard of him. Executive Proton, real name Olwen Lummiki. Ice Specialist and at one point, Johto's most infamous boogeyman and serial killer, the Iceman. He has deep seated hatred towards Johto and Johtonian politicians in general and was once marked as a Level 10 threat in Indigo. When someone was needed to put him down, Giovanni volunteered for the job and thereafter reported that he had neutralised Proton. Well, now we know that isn't the case. Our informant had also noted that Proton is in charge of Team Rocket's manpower and did list out several pokemon that Proton is known to use. Not only that, it is almost confirmed that Proton will be assigned to Goldenrod on that day, so Whitney will have to prepare herself to face him."

"Got it. Thanks."

"No problem. Moving on." Volkner made a flipping motion with his hand and the screen changed once more, showing yet the picture of another Team Rocket Executive. "This is the Executive which we have the most information on. Executive Petrel, real name Henrik Amon. Poison Specialist and one of Indigo's best trainers in his generation. Some people call him by his moniker, the Toxic Mask. This guy also used to be the undefeated reigning champion of the underworld for three years until he suddenly joined Team Rocket for reasons unknown, although it is suspected by our informant that his deceased daughter may be the reason. He's noted to be very adept at infiltration and has the ability to create lifelike disguises extremely quickly, and that is why he is in charge of Team Rocket's infiltration department. Our informant had also gotten the full list of the pokemon Petrel is known to use and his favoured battle tactics but unfortunately, unable to find out where he will be assigned to that day. So, I suggest that everyone memorise what you know about Petrel after this meeting is over because he could be anywhere on the big day. This is the only guy which we can properly prepare ourselves against if we managed to find him."

The screen then moved onto the next slide. This time, however, there is no concrete picture of the Rocket in question, but merely an incomplete facial composite.

"And then we have our mystery guy, Executive Plague. He's a total mystery. Real name, unknown. Facial features, a facial composite that the interpol only managed to piece out very recently and even then we aren't even sure if it is accurate at all. Specialisation, dark types. History and background, also unknown. His role in the organisation is assassination and espionage and he is in charge of Team Rocket's information network. That is all we know about him from our informant. Anything further than that is mere speculation on our part that we think is most likely accurate, but we cannot say for sure either."

The screen then changed to the pictures that captured the aftermath of the attack on Johto National Park, one that Jasmine remembered very well when she first saw it on TV months before.

"Someone among us over here may have very well faced this Executive Plague in battle before. The Indigo Pillars would have already known, but during the attack on the Johto National Park, a Rocket managed to steal two mega stones. One from Falkner, and another from a prominent Ranger from Johto's 1st Ranger Regiment, who were both there on the scene. The investigations conducted on the interpol's end gave us very good reasons to believe that the Rocket Falkner had faced is this unknown Executive Plague. Falkner, do you recall what pokemon the Rocket used?"

"Clear as day. I believe he used his entire team against us during our fight." Falkner replied, fists clenched. "A hydreigon, zoroark, honchkrow, ninetales, bisharp, shiftry, weavile, houndoom, umbreon, drapion. That was what me, Pyral, which is the Ranger you mentioned earlier, and my sister, who also happened to be there on that day, confirmed with each other. He is a Dark Specialist and he will definitely fit the description of this Executive Plague. I couldn't see his face very clearly that day because most of it was covered by his cap and he was wearing a high collar shirt, but the facial outline does fit with the facial composite shown here."

"That matches what we found out from your sister's end as well." Volkner nodded, and Falkner had an obvious look of surprise upon hearing those words but quickly composed himself. "Not only that, upon further investigation by the interpol, we managed to link several Rocket operations to this guy on the screen. If the guy Falkner faced was indeed Plague, which the interpol thinks should be true, then we will have a clearer picture on his capabilities."

The screen changed to show pictures of different locations.

"The attack on a secret research facility at Blackthorn and the poaching of a wild mamoswine from Cherrygrove Nature Reserve. The Rocket responsible for the operation is confirmed to be the same one for the attack on the park. From there, we figured out that this Rocket is in actuality a master of the move, Hypnosis, and had been designated a Level 9 threat after the attack on the Blackthorn research facility just for the illegal usage of Hypnosis alone. His threat level had been upped to Level 10 after the attack on the park. Basically, this guy could hypnotise anyone without us the wiser and control them from the shadows, making him a very tricky opponent to deal with."

That got everyone's undivided attention immediately. Hypnosis is a move that very few trainers could train their pokemon to master, but those that could often attract attention of all sorts to themselves because like what Volkner had mentioned, a true master of Hypnosis can easily place anyone under their control without anyone knowing, even the victims themselves.

"We also found out certain bits of information through… what I would refer to as less reliable means. Ever heard of Pokemon Testimonies? They are very rarely used so don't be too embarrassed to admit that you had never heard of it before."

Upon spotting several shakes of heads in the room, Volkner began to elaborate.

"Alright, Pokemon Testimonies is in essence, treating a pokemon who is a witness to a crime scene as though it is a human witness, and taking testimonies from it through the help of a trusted psychic type. However, not all pokemon are eligible to be witnesses because some of them are not as bright or reliable and their testimonies could not be fully trusted, hence the rarity of using Pokemon Testimonies. But in this case we don't really have much of an option because what we know about this guy is severely limited."

Volkner then jabbed a thumb back to the screen behind him.

"So what the interpol further confirmed through Pokemon Testimonies was that Plague very likely has another two pokemon that he never used during his fight against Falkner, and that is an exeggutor and a gengar. The last information we dug up was that this person's real name, very likely, is Jayce."

"Very likely? If you know that he is called Jayce, you could just scroll through the Indigo's database to narrow down the search." Surge grunted out.

"We tried. There's no such person who fits any of the descriptions about Plague with the name of Jayce." Volkner replied. "I have a feeling that he may be using another identity to hide within the Indigo. Given Team Rocket's influence and capabilities, it's not a far stretch to imagine that such a thing is possible in their attempt to hide their Executives from the law. Just look at how Archer and Proton had evaded detection all these years when they were believed to be dead. And- yes, Elesa. You have a question?"

Everyone turned towards Elesa, who had her hand raised up to catch Volkner's attention.

"I, um, how do I say this? I believed that I _might _have met this person before, he left quite an impression."

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief. Elesa didn't seem to notice the reactions as she continued talking.

"So, Grimsley and I were here in Johto for the PWL meeting. We ended up being the first foreign delegation to arrive, reaching Olivine quite a number of days earlier than expected. I decided to go do some sightseeing by myself and ended up visiting the famous Miltank farm on Route 39. It was where I met this guy."

Elesa pointed towards the screen at the end of her sentence. More specifically, the facial composite of Executive Plague.

"Are you certain?" Lance asked, a mixture of excitement and concern on his face.

"Fairly certain. It's hard to forget those eyes of his, it's too unique, and he does have a gengar and weavile that is extremely well-trained and obviously on the higher spectrum of Elite level pokemon, similar to this Executive Plague." Elesa nodded in agreement before frowning. "But there comes the contradiction. I am also very certain that he is _not _a criminal. In fact, his actions, mannerisms, everything about him tells me that he is a secret agent working for Indigo, but it doesn't look like you guys know him at all, which is very weird."

The Indigo Pillars began to exchange glances and murmurs with each other. Seeing as how nobody seems to believe her, Elesa offered an alternative as an afterthought.

"In light of the situation, I am willing to subject myself to a memory extraction through my alolan raichu. You guys can view that portion of my memories during your free time and decide if the guy I met really has the same eyes as the ones we see here on screen. Although… judging from the way you Indigo Pillars looked at each other just now and the murmurs, you guys know something we foreign Pillars don't, do you?"

"If the Indigo Pillars really know certain information that is crucial to this operation that we don't, I would prefer if you inform us about it. I don't like the idea of being kept in the dark for an operation with stakes as large as this." Steven Stone, who had been silent all this while, spoke up.

Blaine was the first to make a reply.

"I believe that most of our foreign dignitaries might not have known this tidbit of information yet, but as the Indigo Pillars would have already known, Indigo was warned of this coming crisis through an informant that we never knew about. To date, we still don't know who that person is, but we do know that he or she must have infiltrated very deep within Team Rocket' ranks to get such detailed information. If Elesa's words are indeed correct, then I believe we might just have located the source of the leak on Team Rocket's end."

"And why would a Rocket leak out such information to Indigo on purpose? Doesn't it all seem fishy?" Siebold voiced out, his words being backed up by some members present in the room.

"Then this person might be Kain's spy, the one that we have been searching for quite a while now."

The voice of Professor Samuel Oak could be heard in the room, cutting everyone off.

"_Kain's_ spy? As in, _President Briggs?"_ Siebold questioned with a slight frown on his face.

"Yes. Long story short, we recently found out that Kain used to have an army of spies, _child spies_. It was an illegal project involving the kidnapping of children all across Indigo to make up his spy army, many of them were from prominent families and abducted at a very young age so that they would never remember their roots. Even Agatha's and my granddaughter weren't spared, as we have recently found out."

That earned several shocked gasps from the occupants in the room.

"Samuel. Do not reveal unnecessary information." Agatha gritted out, her hand holding tightly onto her walking cane.

"Sorry." Samuel apologised before continuing. "When we dug further, we found out that all of Kain's spies were marked as killed in action except for one whose personal information could not be found no matter how we tried. All we know is that it is very likely that this particular spy had been sent to infiltrate Team Rocket and the only identification we can pin on him or her is Operative 2046, codename: Gengar."

"Hold on." Brock put a temporary pause to the conversation, allowing everyone some time to regather their thoughts. "Are we speculating a little too much here? I am not doubting Elesa or anyone's words, but to suddenly believe that Plague is our informant based on speculations and gut feelings alone… Sorry, but I am not comfortable with this. What if our speculations are way off the mark? I still feel that until we have concrete confirmation that Plague is indeed our secret informant, we should treat him as a Rocket."

"I second that." Drake nodded. "It will be too foolish and naive on our part to treat someone who is on the side of our enemy as a potential ally, even if we know that we have an ally somewhere within their ranks. If Plague truly is on our side, his actions will tell us the truth on that day itself. Until then, we should assume that he is an enemy."

"I agree with Brock and Drake." Lance spoke up, capturing everyone's attention as well. "While I do want to know who our informant is in order to prevent friendly fire, I am not taking any unnecessary risks when Indigo's safety is at stake. Until we can prove that Plague is indeed our informant or not, we should assume he is an ene-"

"When was it?"

Grimsley's scratchy voice interrupted the meeting, a hint of fury underlying it. Everyone turned towards the Unova Elite Four member, only to see his face contorted in anger.

"Grimsley?"

"About twenty-two years ago, I had a son who was abducted from me. Here, in Kanto, in Pallet Town. I was out and away for a short while, leaving my wife and in-laws back home to take care of my newborn son. When I returned, everything was on fire. My in-laws perished in that fire and I nearly lost my wife to it too. However, I could not find our son, not even a corpse. That fire was clearly not natural and ignited on purpose, so my son has to be abducted. I just do not have any concrete proof. Not only that, my son was very special, he has a very strong yet unnatural affinity towards dark types that attracts all dark types to him like a magnet. Even at a week old it was obvious that he could go very far as a Dark Specialist should he choose to follow my path. That kind of natural talent is extremely valuable. I wouldn't put it past anyone to try and kidnap my son for their own gains."

Grimsley stood up and angrily marched up to the front. His liepard, responding to his trainer's rage, hissed out loud as it followed after Grimsley, snarling angrily the entire time.

Grimsley grabbed Samuel by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up, their faces now only inches apart. The people around them had to actually try and separate them but the hiss of warning from Grimsley's liepard reminded them that they should all back off unless they wanted a fierce battle from the feline.

"Grimsley! Put him down! Gosh! What would Alder-"

"Shut _up_, Elesa." Grimsley snapped back. "Your turn will come later. This is possibly MY SON that we are talking about here! I don't give a flying fuck about Indigo, not when Indigo had the audacity to **_kill _**_my in-laws and **abduct **my son to be a goddamn **tool**!_"

The room fell into uneasy silence as Grimsley snarled at Samuel's face, who looked very calm in face of Grimsley's anger.

"That unresolved murder and kidnapping, my son's natural talent with dark types, Kain's stupid child spies project, and now this Rocket who so _happens _to be a **_Dark Specialist_** that could go up against _Falkner _of all people with a possibility of him being a double agent working_ for the Indigo_. And then those eyes._ Look carefully,_ Samuel, **_look _**at those eyes! You should recognise them too since my wife used to work under you. Those eyes, they _look almost **exactly **the same as my **wife's!**_ This is no damn coincidence. _When was it?_ Kain's spy army project, WHEN DID IT START?!"

"About twenty two years ago, it was the same period of time where Samuel and I lost our children to a rhyhorn stampede that we just found out was incited on purpose, and where one of our granddaughters went missing and never to be found again. She was the one we had lost and is confirmed to be killed in action." Agatha spoke up from where she was seated beside Samuel. "Not only that, if this Plague is indeed our informant and working for Kain, which means that he is very likely your son, then according to the secret files we secretly stole from Kain, your son and our granddaughter were partners. They have to have known each other, that is all we know. You can put Samuel down now."

"Tch."

Grimsley unceremoniously released Samuel from his grip, letting the aged professor drop back down onto his chair. Grimsley's furious glare slowly turned to Lance.

"We **_will _**be having words after this meeting is over, _Champion_."

"We will." Lance agreed with a nod of his head before turning back to Volkner. "Volkner, if you would continue with the meeting."

"Right…" Volkner trailed off before he moved onto the next slide and pointedly ignored the silent tension hanging within the meeting room. "That was an… unexpected turn of events, but now that we are done informing you guys about the Executives, let's move onto the manpower allocation on the big day itself. I'm saying this in advance, the information we have on hand about Team Rocket's plan to conquer Johto on National Day is incomplete. We will be working with incomplete information here, so just keep that in mind and be prepared for things to not go the way we expect them to be. Now, there are a total of seven key places of interests that we have to take note of on the big day…"

* * *

**Pokemon and trainer list:**

**Volkner Tide: Ex Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist**

**Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash**

**Pokemon Team:**

**1\. Electivire (Franky), male**

**2\. Luxray (Simba), male**

**3\. Jolteon (Jo), female**

**4\. Magnezone (ISpy), genderless**

**5\. Gallade (Myst), male**

**6\. Rhyperior (Tec), male**

**7\. Probopass (North), female**

**8\. Gyarados (Puddle), male**

**9\. Raichu (Squeaky), female**

**10\. Pachirisu (Scrat), male**

**11\. Heliolisk (Bask), male**

**12\. Ampharos (Fluffy), female**

**13\. Vikavolt (Vik), female**

**14\. Eelektross (Whirr), male**

**15\. Lanturn (Glowy), female**

**16\. Rotom (Prime), genderless**

**17\. Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless**

**18\. Alolan Golem, (Toss), male**

**19\. Electrode (Boomer), genderless**


End file.
